Department for Transport

Govia Thameslink Railway: Trains

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in what year the Class 313 trains serving Brighton and Hove and the South East ​Coastway lines were built; what plans he has to replace them; and if he will make a statement.

Wendy Morton: The Class 313 units were introduced into passenger traffic by British Rail in 1976. Whilst we expect rolling stock to meet the needs of passengers, this is currently a matter for the operator to ensure that the rolling stock it deploys is appropriate for the services operated.

Great British Railways: Consultants

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2022 to Question 119777 on Great British Railways: Consultants, what the monthly consultancy cost has been for consultants supporting or contracted by the Great British Railways Transition Team in each month form October 2021 to February 2022.

Wendy Morton: Further to PQ 119777 which provided forecast expenditure, the total actual spend on consultancy support over the period from 18 October 2021 to 4 February 2022 was £6.4million. Data on the monthly consultancy cost for consultants supporting the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) is not available in the format requested as GBRTT hold data in accounting periods rather than calendar months.

Bus Services: Finance

Naz Shah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Bus Service Recovery Grant will be extended beyond March 2022.

Trudy Harrison: We have provided unprecedented support for local transport during the pandemic. For bus, operators and local authorities have received funding through the £1.5bn Coronavirus Bus Service Support Grant, and the ongoing £226.5m Bus Recovery Grant.The Government is committed to seeing the bus sector return to financial self- sufficiency. Discussions are ongoing regarding the costs and benefits of measures to support the sector beyond April, and we are working closely with stakeholders to understand the potential challenges and possible mitigations once recovery funding ends. Recognising the need for further support, an additional £29m uplift will be provided to recipients of the Bus Recovery Grant this financial year.

Railways: Concessions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will extend eligibility for the 50 per cent discount on train travel provided by the 16 to 17 saver rail card to students for the whole of the academic year in which they turn 18; and if he will make a statement.

Wendy Morton: In 2019 we introduced the 16-17 Saver effectively extending half-price child fares to young people aged 16 and 17. Young people are required to continue in education, employment or training until the age of 18. The introduction of the 16-17 Saver means that they have access to half-price rail travel for the entirety of that period. On turning 18, young people can then take advantage of the 16-25 Railcard offering up to a third off most rail fares. We have no plans to extend or change the validity of the 16-17 Saver at this time.

Diesel Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring diesel cars to undergo a particulate filter efficiency test as occurs in The Netherlands.

Trudy Harrison: Some initial research has been undertaken by the Department relating to availability of equipment for checks of functioning diesel particulate filters. Where emissions control equipment fitted by a vehicle manufacturer is missing, obviously modified, or defective, the vehicle will not pass its annual MOT test. The Department for Transport keeps the requirements of the MOT test under review and we note with interest the developments that have taken place in parts of Europe.

Electric Scooters

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of privately owned e-scooters being used on public property; and what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of pedestrians and road users.

Trudy Harrison: The Department estimates that 750,000 private e-scooters are owned across England based on survey results from the DfT Transport Technology Tracker. While trials are running, privately-owned e-scooters used on public property remain illegal. Officials have been in regular contact with the National Police Chiefs’ Council who have developed a national strategy for tacking the illegal use of e-scooters (both private use and illegal use in trial areas – e.g. pavement and twin riding) to ensure a more uniform approach, but it is not our intention to provide guidance to the police. We are considering further options for how best to regulate e-scooters and crack down on their illegal use. New measures being considered will be designed to create a ​much clearer, fit for purpose and fully enforceable regime for e-scooters and other micromobility vehicles.

Electric Scooters: Injuries

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Department for Health and Social Care on trends in the numbers of injuries as a result of e-scooter use.

Trudy Harrison: Officials have not had recent discussions with the Department for Health and Social Care on this issue. To identify trends in the numbers of injuries as a result of e-scooter use, the Department is using STATS19 data and working directly with some NHS Trusts, for example Liverpool. The Department is collecting evidence on rental e-scooter casualties (including the type and severity of injuries) through its monitoring and evaluation programme.

Motor Vehicles: Cameras

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making dashboard cameras mandatory for all vehicles.

Trudy Harrison: The use of dashcam footage is important in tackling unsafe driving behaviour. The police accept and assess footage captured by witnesses using dashcams and sent to them in relation to a number of road traffic offences, such as using a hand-held mobile phone while driving.The natural proliferation of dashcams has helped support enforcement; the Government has no plans to make dashcams mandatory.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Standards

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to improve the performance of the DVLA.

Trudy Harrison: The quickest and easiest way to transact with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has introduced additional online services, recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham. These measures are having a positive impact and customers should continue to see an improving picture in terms of waiting times for paper applications.

Driving Licences: Epilepsy

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the DVLA on improvements to their website to ensure that people with epilepsy are fully informed of their right to surrender their licence rather than having it revoked.

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to expedite driving licences for people with epilepsy who are unable to take out car insurance as a result of delays in receiving their physical licence, despite being able to drive under section 88 provisions.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible for all drivers, including those with health conditions. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has secured extra office space in Swansea and Birmingham.The DVLA has recently introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with epilepsy. This process has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver.The majority of those renewing their licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they can meet the criteria outlined here. Insurance cover in these circumstances is a matter for the insurance company concerned.The DVLA is currently reviewing the information provided on GOV.UK to make clear that drivers have the option to surrender their driving licence before reporting a medical condition using the online fitness to drive service.

High Speed Two: Public Consultation

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the steps taken by HS2 Ltd to (a) inform, (b) involve and (c) respond to affected communities since the HS2 Community Engagement Strategy, Respecting People, Respecting Places, was updated in October 2021.

Andrew Stephenson: Last year as the HS2 Minister, I asked HS2 Ltd to revisit its approach to community engagement. The refreshed strategy ‘Respecting People, Respecting Places’ was launched in October 2021 and sets out HS2 Ltd’s renewed commitments in this area. My Department continues to monitor the impact of HS2 construction on communities and residents, and is assessing the effectiveness of HS2 Ltd measures to inform, involve and respond to ensure that it always deals with communities with responsiveness, sensitivity, and objectivity.

Railways: Huddersfield and Wakefield

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with rail providers in Yorkshire on providing a regular consumer rail route between Huddersfield and Wakefield.

Wendy Morton: Through the Rail North Partnership, we regularly discuss train service options with operators, including the possibility of a regular direct service operating between Huddersfield and Wakefield.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of car engine idling on the environment.

Trudy Harrison: Engine idling can be a significant contributor to local emissions, particularly where there may be a number of idling vehicles such as outside schools. Exhaust emissions contain a range of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter. These can affect the air quality of the surrounding environment and the air we breathe. That is why the law states that is an offence to idle your engine unnecessarily when stationary and Local Authorities have powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to drivers who do so.

Electric Scooters: Middlesbrough

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to recommend a further 12 month period of operation for the e-scooter trial scheme being run in Middlesbrough by Ginger, which was launched in July 2020.

Trudy Harrison: The Secretary of State has made no recommendation to Middlesbrough, or any other e-scooter trial area, regarding either continued participation in the trials, or the appointment of any e-scooter operator. E-scooter trials were originally meant to end on 30 November 2021, but trials were extended until 31 March 2022 to take into account the slower start to trials as a result of the pandemic. In October 2021 trials were further extended to 30 November 2022. The further extension will allow us to continue to fill data gaps and allow us to collect more evidence. We wrote to all trial areas in January asking them if they wanted to extend their current trials to November 2022. We have always been clear that participation in trials is entirely voluntary and the decision must be made locally.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy: Meters

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussion he has had with energy suppliers on the number of customer complaints related to smart meter roll-out since its inception.

Greg Hands: The Department works closely with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) to monitor consumer experience of smart meters. The smart meter rollout has high levels of consumer satisfaction: evidence shows that nearly 8 in 10 consumers are satisfied with the smart meter installation process. Research from Ofgem has found that smart meter-related complaints make up a very small proportion of total complaints to energy suppliers, relative to the level of smart meter take-up across Great Britain.

Energy: Meters

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much the Government has spent on the smart meter roll-out to date.

Greg Hands: Industry is funding the rollout of smart meters. The latest estimates of the costs and benefits can be found in the 2019 Cost Benefit Analysis of the smart meter rollout in Great Britain: www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meter-roll-out-cost-benefit-analysis-2019

Energy: Meters

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help energy companies achieve their fixed annual installation targets for smart meters.

Greg Hands: The Department regularly engages with energy suppliers to monitor rollout progress and identify and share good practice on operational and consumer engagement issues.

Energy: Meters

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking when an energy supplier does not achieve their fixed annual installation target for smart meters.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is responsible for setting government policy and obligations relating to the rollout of smart meters, whilst the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against their smart metering obligations. Ofgem has a range of tools available for doing this under its Enforcement Guidelines.

Business: Regulation

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many proposals launched in the 2020 consultation entitled Reforming Regulation Initiative, have been implemented by his Department as of 18 February 2022.

Paul Scully: The Regulatory Reform Initiative (RRI) was launched between March to June 2020 to identify possible opportunities to improve the UK regulatory reform. Of the 72 responses received, 58 relate to existing government initiatives, while the remaining 14 responses are not feasible or are not applicable to the RRI. As set out in the January ‘Benefits of Brexit’ announcement, the Government is committed to upholding flexible regulatory frameworks and rules that bear down on compliance costs and ensure enforcement is modernised and joined up. The rules we set will be outcomes-focused and proportionate with the clear objective of delivering growth and innovation. As part of this, we are delivering a package of reforms to the regulatory framework that aim to deliver on the Government’s key priorities, while improving, and controlling the flow of, regulation that impacts on business. The Government has also made a commitment to cut £1 billion of business costs from retained EU red tape.

Fire Industry Association: Supply Chains

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the Fire Industry Association (FIA) on (a) supply chain disruption and (b) component shortages.

Lee Rowley: The Government is aware that there are pressures on the supply chains of certain sectors, driven by global and domestic supply and demand factors. We are working with industry to understand how these pressures are impacting businesses on the ground so that we can continue to monitor the situation. We do talk to the Fire Industry Association (FIA) regularly on a range of issues and would welcome any further feedback from them on this matter.

Innovation: Newcastle upon Tyne

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 172 of the Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper, how much and what proportion of the £33 million investment in the Driving the Electric Revolution programme for Power Electronics Machines and Drives Industrialisation Centres will be allocated to Newcastle.

George Freeman: Through the Driving the Electric Revolution challenge, UK Research and Innovation has made an award of £33m to Newcastle University, which will be used to establish four Industrialisation Centres across the UK, involving a range of partners throughout the four locations. Newcastle University will be responsible for establishing and managing the North East Industrialisation Centre, which will include a physical centre in Sunderland.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment was used as the basis for closing the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Renewable Heat Incentive applications in favour of the new Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Greg Hands: The domestic Renewable Heat Incentive launched in 2014 and will close to new applications, as scheduled on 31 March 2022. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme will launch following the closure of the Renewable Heat Incentive, and will provide a more targeted, accessible, and simpler offer, by providing upfront capital grants to support the installation of low carbon heat technologies. The capital grant directly targets the high upfront cost of low-carbon heating systems, which the Department’s evaluation of the Renewable Heat Incentive has shown to be a major barrier in uptake.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies have (a) successfully undertaken digital training for the new Boiler Upgrade Scheme and (b) been rejected for training for the new Boiler Upgrade Scheme as a result of over subscription.

Greg Hands: The Government has not provided specific training for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Over 1,200 businesses are now MCS-certified to install heat pumps and a number of training courses are available for heating engineers who wish to learn how to install heat pumps.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he will take to ensure Boiler Upgrade Scheme vouchers will not be hoarded by large companies who have the capacity to make bulk applications.

Greg Hands: Vouchers will be allocated on a first come first serve basis, up until the budget cap for the financial year is reached. Any Microgeneration Certification Scheme certified installer who is able to meet the eligibility criteria and provide the required evidence at voucher application will be eligible to apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Vouchers will have a limited validity period to ensure unused vouchers are returned and recycled in a timely manner. The customer will also need to consent to the voucher application, which will prevent speculative bulk applications being made.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Social Media

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff in his Department are managing Ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.

George Freeman: No staff within the Department manage ministerial social media accounts

Energy: Meters

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling the sharing of smart meter data across (a) the energy sector and (b) local and central government.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with representatives of energy providers on sharing smart meter data with local and central government.

Greg Hands: The smart metering Data Access and Privacy Framework permits proportionate access to energy consumption data from smart meters by authorised parties while safeguarding consumers’ privacy. As the smart meter rollout progresses, the Government will continue working with industry and consumer groups to assess further potential benefits of sharing smart metering data to address policy challenges, subject to appropriate privacy safeguards. The Framework ensures that consumers have control over who can access their energy consumption data and for what purposes, except where this is required for regulated purposes (for example, billing).

Energy: Meters

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential role of smart meter data, beyond influencing the behaviour of energy companies and consumers, in the better regulation of building energy efficiency and reaching net zero.

Greg Hands: The Department recognises the role that smart metering and smart metering data can play in improving building energy efficiency. The BEIS-funded Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Rating Innovation Competition developed, demonstrated and assessed new methods for measuring the thermal performance of homes using smart meter and other data. The Department is continuing to work with industry to assess how smart meter metrics can be used to support the delivery of net zero emissions from heating and powering homes.

Energy: Meters

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its four-year policy framework for smart meter installations.

Greg Hands: The Government’s new four-year smart meter Targets Framework commenced on 1 January 2022 after consultation with industry and consumer groups. The Department will closely monitor smart meter installations, ahead of a mid-point review of the Framework in 2023.

Energy: Cooperatives

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will set out his plans for supporting the community energy sector in the future.

Greg Hands: The Government recognises that community energy groups have a role to play in the Department’s efforts to decarbonise the economy. Through the introduction of UK-wide growth funding schemes, such as the Towns Fund, the Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals in ways that best suit their needs. The Government encourages community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes. The Government also plans to reintroduce the Community Energy Contact Group to strengthen engagement with the sector.

Postage Stamps

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he was consulted by Royal Mail on the voiding of existing stamps in 2023 before the decision was taken.

Paul Scully: The development of stamp products is an operational matter for Royal Mail and not an issue in which the Secretary of State has a role.

Carers: Leave

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory entitlement to paid leave for carers.

Paul Scully: The 2019 manifesto committed to introduce one week of leave for unpaid carers. The Government consulted on proposals to deliver this commitment in 2020. The Government response to this consultation confirmed that Carer’s Leave will be a day 1 right, available to all employees who are providing care for a dependant with a long-term care need. Eligible employees will be entitled to 5 days of unpaid leave per year, which will be available to take flexibly in individual or half days.

Leader of the House

Linacre College: Sovico Group

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Leader of the House, what criteria he will apply when giving advice to the (a) Privy Council and (b) Department for Education on whether an Oxford University college should be given permission by the Privy Council to rename itself after the Chairwoman of a company in order to secure a donation; and whether the human rights record of the Vietnamese Government, with which the Chairwoman has close links, will be included in the assessment of whether to permit that name change.

Mark Spencer: Any chartered body seeking to change its name will need to apply for a Supplemental Charter which takes the form of a petition to The Queen. No such petition has been received by the Privy Council from an Oxford University College, in the terms described. Should such a petition be submitted, it will be dealt with in accordance with the process and set criteria as published on the Privy Council website (https://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/royal-charters/applying-for-a-royal-charter/). Formal applications for Royal Charters and Supplemental Charters are published and gazetted to allow other interested individuals or organisations to comment or to lodge counter-petitions within a set period of time. Each petition is considered on its own merits and it would not be appropriate for me to make a policy statement concerning current or future individual Charter petitions.

Northern Ireland Office

Ambulance Services: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will discuss with Cabinet colleagues improvements to ambulance response times in Northern Ireland.

Conor Burns: Health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Health Minister, Robin Swann, has laid out his strategy for the health service in Northern Ireland including tackling ambulance response times.

Department of Health and Social Care

Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the outbreak of covid-19 on the demand for urgent NHS specialist eating disorder treatment in Kent and Medway.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Bunzl Healthcare: Protective Clothing

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department (a) has spent and (b) estimates it will spend on the judicial review proceedings launched by the Good Law Project regarding the £22.6m contract awarded by his Department to Bunzl for personal procurement equipment procurement in April 2020.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Protective Clothing: Procurement

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of money it has (a) already spent and (b) will spend in total, on defending legal challenges from the Good Law Project regarding the use of the high priority lane for personal protective equipment contracts.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme claims relating to covid-19 vaccinations have been passed to an independent medical advisor for assessment as of 18 February 2022.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Surgical Mesh Implants: South East

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made in establishing the South East Regional specialist centre for the treatment of women damaged by mesh implants; and whether checks will be carried out to ensure that such women, when seeking remedial treatment from that specialist centre, are not placed in the hands of surgeons who were responsible for (a) implanting the mesh originally, (b) denying that anything had gone wrong with the implants and (c) claiming that women reporting extreme physical pain from the implants were imagining it.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take urgent steps to ensure that the Vaccine Data Resolution Service meets its stated case resolution time of 21 days; and what resources his Department is allocating to ensure that patient medical records are rapidly updated to register booster covid-19 vaccinations.

Maggie Throup: If an individual believes that their COVID-19 vaccine records are inaccurate, they can contact 119 and ask to be referred to the Vaccine Data Resolution Service (VDRS). The service make an electronic referral and the VDRS will contact the individual within 21 days to rectify the issue. While no formal assessment has been made of the average length of time taken to resolve complaints, as of 17 February 2022, the average time for the VRDS to contact an individual is three days.The National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) is used as the national register for COVID-19 vaccinations. At the point that someone receives their COVID-19 vaccine, including a booster dose, the vaccinating team record this information onto the NIMS system and a patient’s general practitioner record. A patient’s record will be updated within five working days and a NHS COVID Pass will be available two weeks after completing the full course of vaccination.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to ensure immunocompromised people are safeguarded following the removal of the requirement to self-isolate upon testing positive for covid-19.

Maggie Throup: The vaccination programme has weakened the link between infection, hospitalisation and deaths and ensured that those who are most vulnerable are protected from severe outcomes of COVID-19. A cohort of approximately 1.3 million people, many of whom are immunosuppressed, have been identified as being eligible for anti-viral treatments and will continue to have access to symptomatic testing.

Hikvision

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Hikvision products are in use in (a) his Department and (b) the NHS.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 8 November 2021 to Question 63865 on Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling, when he plans to launch the consultation on alcohol labelling.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether financial support is available for employee's taking time off work to look after their children who have contracted covid-19 and are self-isolating.

Maggie Throup: The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme will end on 24 February 2022. A parent or guardian of a child who is required to self-isolate due to a positive test for COVID-19 on or before 23 February 2022 will have 42 days from the first day of the self-isolation period to submit a claim. A parent or guardian who meets the eligibility criteria of the main scheme or the discretionary scheme will receive the £500 support payment. A parent or guardian who is unable to work from home if their child tests positive for COVID-19 from 24 February 2022 may be eligible for other Government support.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doses of the AstraZenica covid-19 vaccine have been destroyed in the last three months.

Maggie Throup: Information on vaccine wastage prior to entering the NHS England and NHS Improvement’s supply chain is not yet available. Information on vaccine wastage within NHS England and NHS Improvement’s supply chain is not held centrally.Mitigations have been put in place throughout the vaccination programme to reduce wastage. Stock levels have been closely monitored at regional, system and site level with deliveries adjusted accordingly. This includes keeping stock in the supply chain and encouraging sites to reallocate vaccines at a local level. Deliveries have been managed in line with site capacity, population density and available supply to ensure that vaccines can be used within a short timeframe.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doses of the covid-19 vaccine have been thrown away since January 2021.

Maggie Throup: Information on vaccine wastage prior to entering NHS England and NHS Improvement’s supply chain is not held in the format requested. Information on vaccine wastage within the supply chain is not held centrally.Mitigations have been put in place to reduce wastage. Stock levels have been monitored at regional, system and site level with deliveries adjusted accordingly. This includes keeping stock in the supply chain and encouraging sites to reallocate vaccines at local level. Deliveries have been managed in line with site capacity, population density and available supply to ensure that any vaccine is used within a short timeframe. On 17 January 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to healthcare providers to advise that certain unpunctured and undamaged Pfizer vaccines have had the post thaw shelf-life extended from 31 days to 45 days.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in each month of 2021, how many (a) AstraZeneca and (b) Pfizer doses have reached their expiry dates before being administered in the UK.

Maggie Throup: Information on vaccine wastage prior to entering NHS England and NHS Improvement’s supply chain is not held in the format requested. Information on vaccine wastage within the supply chain is not held centrally.Mitigations have been put in place to reduce wastage. Stock levels have been monitored at regional, system and site level with deliveries adjusted accordingly. This includes keeping stock in the supply chain and encouraging sites to reallocate vaccines at local level. Deliveries have been managed in line with site capacity, population density and available supply to ensure that any vaccine is used within a short timeframe. On 17 January 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to healthcare providers to advise that certain unpunctured and undamaged Pfizer vaccines have had the post thaw shelf-life extended from 31 days to 45 days.

Electronic Cigarettes

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to review legislation on no smoking zones to include vaping.

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of second-hand vaping smoke on the health of others; and if he will extend no smoking zones to include vaping.

Maggie Throup: There are no current plans to review this legislation to include vaping. The provision of separate vaping areas is a matter for individual organisations. While there is clear evidence of harm from tar and carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke, there is no comparable evidence of harm from second-hand exposure to vaping.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing and Screening

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the utilisation targets are in respect of (a) laboratory capacity to process covid-19 PCR tests and (b) contact centre capacity; and whether those targets have been reached.

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the proportion of (a) laboratory capacity to process covid-19 PCR tests and (b) contact centre capacity which was paid for has not been used.

Maggie Throup: We do not set utilisation targets for laboratories as this is dependent on public demand for polymerase chain reaction testing. The contact centre aligns resources to the forecasted growth or reduction in positive cases across the country. As figures fluctuate daily it is not possible to predict the exact number of agents to meet utilisation targets. However, the performance of the contact centres is monitored. In January 2022, 62% utilisation on the Trace Service and 63% on the general public testing enquires line was reached. The information requested on paid for laboratory capacity which has not been utilised could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Between October 2021 and January 2022, the contact centre and 119 service did not use an average of 28% of paid time.

Migrants: Coronavirus

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of covid-19 vaccine take-up rates among migrants living in the UK, including people without formal immigration status.

Maggie Throup: No specific assessment has been made. A National Health Service or National Insurance number is not required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. If an individual is not registered with a general practitioner, NHS regional teams and local systems will contact these individuals to ensure they are offered the vaccine. The ‘COVID-19: migrant health guide’ provides advice for healthcare practitioners on the health needs of migrant patients during the pandemic, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-migrant-health-guideWe have worked with NHS England to provide guidance to migrants to support them to make an informed decision on receiving the vaccine and to encourage uptake. Additionally, over £23 million has been provided to 60 councils and voluntary groups in areas of low vaccine uptake in England.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the rollout of Healthy Start vouchers (a) in general and (b) for people without citizenship or indefinite leave to remain.

Maria Caulfield: The Healthy Start vouchers scheme helped hundreds of thousands of nutritionally vulnerable families since its introduction in 2005. The NHS Business Service Authority are now digitising the scheme, on behalf of the Department, introducing an online application to replace the paper form and a pre-paid card to replace paper vouchers.Those who are eligible for the temporary extension, which includes parents or guardians who are excluded from claiming public funds as a consequence of their immigration status, have been paid in vouchers and will have paper vouchers replaced with direct payments.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will supply to the Infected Blood Inquiry all documents which were subject to claims of public interest immunity during the HIV haemophilia litigation in 1990.

Maria Caulfield: The Department supplied those documents requested by the Inquiry where these were retained in its archives.

HIV Infection: Screening

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to provide financial support to local authorities for the provision of at-home HIV testing in all parts of England.

Maria Caulfield: Local authorities are responsible for the provision of HIV testing. Sexual health testing and prevention services, including HIV testing, are primarily funded by local authorities through the Public Health Grant. The Grant is ringfenced for use on public health activity although decisions on spending are made locally. During time-limited periods of specific national campaigning, such as National HIV Testing Week, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities provides a postal HIV self-sampling service which is available in England.

Coronavirus: Screening

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how long his Department plans to continue to provide free lateral flow covid-19 tests to the general public via post and community distribution sites.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free access to lateral flow device tests in England will end, from both GOV.UK and pharmacies. From April, we expect that a private market will develop, allowing people who wish to continue testing to do so.

Coronavirus: Research

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the outcomes of the (a) SIREN study, (b) Easter6 project and (c) Vivaldi study on the effectiveness of antibodies in providing protection against covid-19.

Maggie Throup: Analysis of the effectiveness of COVID-19 prior infection and vaccination is conducted regularly within the SIREN study, published in scientific journals and in reports to expert committees. The most recent analysis, published on 16 February 2022 in the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded that infection-acquired immunity or antibody protection boosted with vaccination remained high after one year. This analysis is available at the following link:https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2118691The Easter 6 project’s latest paper was published in December 2021 in the Lancet, which is available at the following link:https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(21)00253-1/fulltextThis showed that there was low or no neutralising antibodies in re-infection cases, but that there was a significant boost in titres post reinfection. This project is currently undertaking analysis of its recent data that will be published once complete.The outcomes of the Vivaldi study are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vivaldi-study-resultsThe Vivaldi 3 study showed that a COVID-19 booster vaccination markedly increases virus-specific immune responses in residents and staff within care homes. Previous analysis from the Vivaldi study had shown that prior natural infection strongly enhanced subsequent COVID-19 vaccine responses, but that uninfected older people developed suboptimal post-vaccine immunity.

Long Covid: Health Services

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to NHS long covid treatment across England.

Maria Caulfield: Since November 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement have invested £224 million to develop and deliver services for people experiencing persistent symptoms following COVID-19 infection, including 90 post-COVID-19 clinics. This includes £90 million for 2022/23. ‘Long COVID: the NHS plan for 2021/22’, published in June 2021, details a requirement to understand how these services are meeting the needs of local populations. The plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/06/C1312-long-covid-plan-june-2021.pdfThe ‘2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance’, published in December 2021, details the requirement for integrated care systems to support primary care on the equity of access to ensure the most underserved populations are reached. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2022-23-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance/NHS England and NHS Improvement have established a workstream on the long term symptoms of COVID-19 to understand the potential impact of health inequalities and advise on mitigations.

Coronavirus: Travel Requirements

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the records of covid-19 booster vaccinations are provided on covid-19 travel passes.

Maggie Throup: When travelling abroad, records confirming receiving the booster vaccination can be accessed using the NHS COVID Pass via the NHS App and NHS.UK. The booster record can be seen in both the Domestic and Travel COVID Pass sections. From 10 December 2021, an NHS COVID Pass letter can be ordered via the 119 or NHS.UK, if non-digital proof is required for the booster vaccination for international travel. The letter will show a 2D barcode for each vaccination received, including the booster vaccination.

Food: Advertising

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to mitigate the impact of advertising, promotion and placement restrictions on products that are high in fat, salt and sugar on businesses and jobs in the food and drink manufacturing industry.

Maggie Throup: The impact assessments for restricting promotions and further advertising restrictions for products high in fat, salt and sugar show a positive net present value for each policy, meaning the health benefits outweigh the costs to business and Government. Following feedback in response to the public consultations on specific policy proposals on the promotions and placement policy, we have extended the implementation period to October 2022 and included an exemption for micro and small businesses and exempted stores below 185.8 square metres from the location restrictions. On the new advertising restrictions, we have included an exemption for small and medium businesses, brand advertising is out of scope and the online restrictions are limited to paid-for advertising, meaning owned media is out of scope.

Oral Tobacco: Health Hazards

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Committee on Toxicity’s review of the toxicological risks associated with oral nicotine pouches was delayed until mid-2022.

Maggie Throup: The Committee on Toxicity of Food, Consumer Products and the Environment is considering tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches and the review is in progress. An initial discussion paper was presented to the Committee members in May 2021 and further information was requested. Chemical incident response priorities for the Secretariat have delayed further discussion, but it is estimated that this work will conclude in mid-2022.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the sale of e-cigarette products to minors.

Maggie Throup: It is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to those aged under 18 years old and there are restrictions in place on advertising, limits on nicotine strength, labelling and safety requirements. The Department provides funding to local authorities in support of local trading standards activity and the enforcement of these regulations. In addition, the Department provides advice to small businesses, including advice on compliance with age of sale requirements.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on people with underlying health conditions of the proposals to remove all covid-19 restrictions.

Maggie Throup: Data from the Office for National Statistics indicates that infection rates have fallen in England with advice from scientific advisers that it was likely that the Omicron variant had now peaked nationally. National Health Service data shows that hospital admissions and patients in hospital have been steadily falling in recent weeks and that numbers in intensive care and ventilator beds has remained relatively low throughout and has been falling since early January 2022. The equality impacts of moving to ‘Plan A’ and the potential impacts on vulnerable groups have been considered as part of the decision-making process.We have issued guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19, which is available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk In addition, all those who are severely immunosuppressed are eligible for a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as part of their primary course and a booster or fourth dose. From 16 December 2021, the NHS has offered new antibody and antiviral treatments to those at greater risk from COVID-19. These treatments are licensed for use in non-hospitalised patients to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death. These treatments can be accessed through COVID Medicine Delivery Units.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) double and (b) triple vaccinated covid-19 patients were admitted to hospital in each month since March 2021; and what assessment he has made of the differences in hospitalisation rates for individuals vaccinated with the (i) Pfizer, (ii) Moderna and (iii) AstraZeneca vaccines.

Maggie Throup: Data on the number of double and triple vaccinated COVID-19 patients who were admitted to hospital in each month since March 2021 is not available in the format requested.However, between 23 January 2022 and 13 February 2022 there were 10,222 COVID-19 cases presenting to emergency care within 28 days of a positive specimen resulting in overnight inpatient admission. Of these, 1,810 people had received at least two vaccine doses and 4,939 people had received at least three vaccine doses. No specific assessment has been made of the differences in hospitalisation rates by vaccine as this information is not held centrally.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent data his Department holds on third covid-19 vaccine dose take-up by ethnicity.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent data his Department holds on covid-19 booster vaccine take-up by ethnicity.

Maggie Throup: NHS England and NHS Improvement publish monthly data on vaccination rates, including booster and third doses by ethnicity, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/Local authority Directors of Public Health receive daily updates on vaccine uptake in their areas, by Middle Layer Super Output Area and ethnicity to allow them to tailor their vaccination programme to the communities they serve. In December 2021, we announced £22 million for the Community Vaccine Champions Scheme to support 60 local authorities with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates. Community Champions are working with local councils to address barriers to accurate vaccine information and encourage community members to get vaccinated. All vaccination rates are monitored and reported and NHS England and NHS Improvement hold regular discussions with providers in areas of low uptake.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions he has had with the armed forces on assisting with covid-19 vaccine programme in schools.

Maggie Throup: Following discussions about the additional training requirements needed to vaccinate children and young people, it was agreed with the Ministry of Defence that armed forces personnel would not be needed to assist with vaccinations in schools.

Novel Foods

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the request from the Woven Network for a transitional arrangement pending implementation in the UK of the EU Novel Food regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The Woven Network promotes the sale of edible insects for human consumption. European Union law provided for a period of transition for insect products to allow time for applications for these novel foods to be submitted and an EU decision on authorisation. No decisions were made before the end of the Transition Period, so no insects are currently authorised in Great Britain. The Food Standards Agency (FSA), as the policy owner for novel foods, is considering options on insects, including those proposed by the Woven Network pending an authorisation under national law. A decision on next steps will be made in due course. In the meantime, the FSA welcomes new applications for edible insects under the novel foods pre-market authorisation process.

Coronavirus: Screening

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce a central repository of PCR tests in use in the NHS and publish evidence validating each test's effectiveness.

Maggie Throup: Manufacturers and distributors wishing to place a COVID-19 test on the market in the United Kingdom, including for sale to the National Health Service, must seek approval under the Medical Devices (Coronavirus Test Device Approvals) (Amendment) Regulations 2021. The approval process involves a review of evidence provided by the manufacturer about the performance of the test. Tests are approved where the manufacturer has provided suitable evidence that it meets performance thresholds in the Regulations. Tests which have been approved are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-test-validation-approved-productsSeveral tests procured by the Department for use in NHS trusts have received validation which involves laboratory testing. The results of this process are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assessment-and-procurement-of-coronavirus-covid-19-tests/coronavirus-covid-19-serology-and-viral-detection-testing-uk-procurement-overviewFor those tests without national validation, tests are validated and verified at each NHS site as part of the requirements of their ISO15189 accreditation.

Immunosuppression

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will include a specific responsibility for immunocompromised and clinically extremely vulnerable people in the portfolio of a Minister in his Department.

Maggie Throup: I have portfolio responsibility for policy relating to people who are immunosuppressed during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ending the legal requirement to isolate after testing positive for covid-19 on clinically extremely vulnerable persons.

Maggie Throup: An assessment of the impact on protected groups has been completed alongside public health considerations, and consideration has been given to groups who may be disproportionately impacted by changes to the legislation, as well as those who are immunosuppressed.After the legal duty to self-isolate ends, guidance will advise that positive cases and close contacts should avoid contact with anyone who may be more vulnerable to COVID-19. Separate guidance will be provided to those who are immunosuppressed, advising what extra steps they can take to protect themselves. Additionally, those most vulnerable to COVID-19 will continue to be protected through vaccinations, antivirals and therapeutics.

Oral Tobacco

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the British Standard Institution’s Standard 8877 on tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches; whether he plans for the Post-Implementation Review of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 to recommend establishing a regulatory framework for tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches; and if he will take steps to help ensure that tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches are regulated appropriately.

Maggie Throup: No assessment has been made. The Post Implementation Review into the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 is expected to be published shortly and will set out if the legislation is achieving its aims. We are reviewing the regulatory framework for tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches.

Coronavirus: Screening

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to continue to make covid-19 lateral flow tests freely available to clinically extremely vulnerable people to allow them to continue to benefit from covid-19 antivirals within their treatment window.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, there will be limited symptomatic testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. We will set out further details on which groups will be eligible in due course.

Medwell Medical Products

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many items of personal protective equipment the Government has procured from Medwell Medical Products since January 2021.

Edward Argar: The Department does not hold a contract with Medwell Medical Products for the supply of Personal Protection Equipment.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond the letters dated 27 September and 16 December 2021 from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on social care costs.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 22 February 2022.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 1 August 2021 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire regarding free NHS services, reference ZA57330.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 13 January 2022.

Opioids

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the MHRA's Opioids Expert Working Group will consider the use of opioids solely for pain management or the use of opioids in their entirety.

Edward Argar: The Opioid Expert Working Group was established under the auspices of the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) to examine regulatory measures in place and whether further action was needed. The review examined the use of opioids in non-cancer pain relief available over the counter and by prescription and did not include opioid use in the treatment of cancer pain or substitution therapy.The review found that information for patients and healthcare professionals must be consistent and clear. The CHM’s recommendations to improve information for prescribers and patients about these risks to protect public health have been implemented. The safety of opioids is continuously monitored to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks in the use of these medicines.

Hospices: Apprentices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) is planning to take to encourage hospices to access Apprenticeship Levy funding.

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the extent of apprenticeship opportunities in the hospice sector.

Edward Argar: We are increasing funding for apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25. This will support apprenticeships in non-levy employers, such as hospices, where the Government will continue to pay 95% of training costs.Since 1 April 2021, all non-levy paying employers, including hospices, arranging new apprenticeships must do so through the apprenticeship service. This provides more control over apprenticeship choices and the ability to reserve funds before choosing the appropriate apprenticeship provider. All small and medium-sized enterprises, such as hospices, have been able to reserve funding for up to 10 new apprenticeships in 2021/22.

Carers: Prescriptions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on the exemption of people in receipt of carer’s allowance from NHS prescription charges.

Edward Argar: There have been no specific discussions. Approximately 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and arrangements are already in place to help those with the greatest need. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

Doctors: Migrant Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board test does not have a waiting list.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a person who had to return to the UK to care for parents and as a result were unable to take their foundation post-graduate medical training in the country of their degree would be accepted onto Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board (PLAB) test on the Foundation Programme; and whether there are other exceptional circumstances in which people are accepted onto the PLAB test on the Foundation Programme.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) levels of demand for Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board tests and (b) impact of that demand on the availability of places to take that test; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) enabling people to be accepted onto that test two years after graduation and (b) providing flexibility in the acceptance criteria for that test to take into account exceptional circumstances.

Edward Argar: To register with the General Medical Council (GMC), doctors who have qualified outside of the United Kingdom, the European Economic Area or Switzerland must pass the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test to demonstrate they have the right knowledge and skills to practise medicine. PLAB tests are available to candidates irrespective of when they graduate provided they have an acceptable primary medical qualification and meet the GMC’s English language requirements.The GMC makes PLAB spaces available to all candidates on a first come first served basis, rather than operating a waiting list, aside from a small number of places reserved for those with exceptional circumstances. Applications for these places are considered by the GMC on a case-by-case basis and if they are not filled, are made available to all candidates applying in the usual way. The eligibility criteria for the Foundation Programme are separate and a matter for the UK Foundation Programme Office.The GMC is independent of Government and is responsible for operational matters, including those relating to the PLAB tests. Therefore, the Department has not undertaken an assessment of the levels of demand for PLAB tests. However, the Government works closely with the GMC and recognises the extremely high level of demand for PLAB 1 places. The GMC has invested in new facilities and additional resources to double the number of PLAB exams it can offer. The GMC plans to release more seats later in spring at UK and overseas venues. There are currently PLAB 2 places available later in 2022.

Health Services: Standards

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to reduce delays to NHS urgent appointments.

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional support the Government plans to provide to assist NHS trusts in England to reduce waiting times for urgent appointments.

Edward Argar: On 8 February 2022, the Department published the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’, which sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years.To reduce delays and waiting times, we have committed more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, supported by a £5.9 billion capital investment for new beds, equipment and technology. This is in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available to systems this year to increase elective activity.

HIV Infection: Screening

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of local authority provision of availability of at home HIV testing all year round; and what criteria is used to determine eligibility criteria for that testing.

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether daily limits are in place on the number of postal at-home HIV tests available through local authorities.

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what date all local authorities in England will be providing postal at-home HIV testing.

Maria Caulfield: Local authorities have primary responsibility for the provision of HIV testing. Decisions on how those tests are provided are therefore made locally. While most areas do provide services for at home HIV self-sampling services, there is no central requirement to do so.

Protective Clothing: Procurement

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) number and (b) proportion of PPE items purchased or procured by the Government are that have been manufactured by UK based companies.

Edward Argar: The Government has ordered 3.9 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) from United Kingdom manufacturers. This represents 10.7% of all PPE ordered since the start of the pandemic. UK manufacturers have the capacity currently to meet the estimated future demand for PPE in the UK, for all categories except gloves.

HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the first meeting of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Group will take place.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the terms of reference of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Group will be made public; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the names of the members of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Group.

Maria Caulfield: The first meeting of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group is planned for April 2022. The terms of reference and membership are currently being finalised and will be published on GOV.UK once agreed by the HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group.

IVF

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason accessibility to NHS-funded IVF is determined by local clinical commissioning groups as opposed to being a standardised national service.

Maria Caulfield: Currently clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) commission the majority of health care provision in their locality, as they have the knowledge and experience to arrange the services that best meet the needs of their populations.National Health Service-funded treatment should be commissioned by CCGs with due regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guidelines, which represent best clinical practice. NICE guidelines are not mandatory.

Health Services: Rural Areas

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in his Department have roles with a specific focus on rural health.

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the recommendations outlined in the all-party Parliamentary group on rural health and social care's report on rural health provision in England.

Maria Caulfield: We welcome the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s report, in particular its focus on health disparities and the experiences of rural communities. We plan to publish a health disparities white paper later this year which will set out measures to address health disparities and its causes, including those linked to geography. While there is no specific team within the Department solely focused on rural health, all policy teams are encouraged to embed consideration of rural health provision in policy development and delivery.

Mental Health: Research

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase funding for research into mental health.

Maria Caulfield: The Department funds mental health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR supports a wide portfolio of mental health research through various funding streams. In 2020/21, the NIHR spent £109 million on mental health research. We are also funding the Mental Health Research Initiative to expand mental health activity and build the capacity and capability of mental health research in regions which are currently under-represented. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. The NIHR’s funding is available through open competition for mental health and we encourage researchers to submit applications in this area.

Motor Neurone Disease: Research

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will confirm that the recently announced £50m for targeted motor neurone disease (MND) research will be awarded in full to the scientific programme set out in the submission by MND charities to the 2021 Spending Review.

Maria Caulfield: This funding can be accessed through applications to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The NIHR and UKRI rely on researchers submitting high-quality applications to access funding. All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Protective Clothing: Procurement

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many active court cases his Department is defending itself against regarding the high priority lane for personal protective equipment.

Edward Argar: There have been legal challenges brought in relation to seven contracts with two suppliers that were processed through the high priority lane. These challenges have been dismissed in court and permission to appeal has so far been refused.

Dentistry: Assessments

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to amend the five-year time limit for the General Dental Council’s (GDC) overseas registration exam in the context of the delays caused by the covid-19 pandemic; and whether officials in his Department have had discussions with representatives of the GDC on that matter.

Edward Argar: The Dentists Act 1984 requires the majority of overseas applicants to its register to undertake the General Dental Council’s (GDC) Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) to confirm they have the requisite skills and knowledge to practise dentistry in the United Kingdom. This legislation restricts the GDC from offering ORE assessment places to candidates where five or more years have passed since they first attempted Part 1 of the exam.Departmental officials have worked with the GDC to develop a legislative solution which will provide these candidates with additional time to take the ORE assessment in the future. On 7 February 2022, we launched a public consultation on this proposed solution alongside broader proposals to provide the GDC with greater flexibility to amend its international registration processes. The consultation runs until 6 May 2022.Subject to the legislation coming into force, the GDC will contact affected candidates to inform them of the length of time they have available to sit the ORE, prioritising those impacted by the pandemic. The GDC has been working to secure a programme for further sittings of the ORE assessment and will explain the priority system directly to affected candidates when the next candidate update is issued.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme for covid-19 vaccinations will prioritise the processing of claims where the claimant’s diagnosed condition has an association acknowledged by inclusion in the Product Information warnings provided by MHRA.

Maria Caulfield: All claims submitted to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme are clinically assessed on a case-by-case basis once all the claimant’s medical records are gathered. The NHS Business Services Authority, who administer the scheme, have established a team of caseworkers to ensure all claims are processed as quickly as possible.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead of 11 October 2021, case number MP71917 on the loss of jobs at the MHRA.

Edward Argar: We replied to the Rt hon. Member on 21 February 2022.

Social Services: Costs

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with local authorities regarding the additional cost of increased numbers of individual assessments for adult social care following the publication of the Adult Social Care Reform White Paper.

Gillian Keegan: No such discussions have taken place. The introduction of a cap on eligible care costs from October 2023 will limit the amount people will have to pay towards the cost of their eligible care and support needs. More people will also be eligible for local authority means-tested support. We recognise that the reforms will increase the number of people who will come into contact with their local authority and whose care and support needs and financial situation, local authorities will need to assess.The additional costs associated with these changes will be covered in the adult social care reform programme, announced on 7 September 2021. During this Spending Review period, over £3.6 billion has been made available for reforming the social care charging system, including conducting the necessary assessments, and enable all local authorities to move towards paying providers a fair rate for care. Officials are considering the most appropriate approach for distributing this funding, including through discussions with local authorities on their expected costs.

Social Services: Finance

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the impact of the changes to social care funding on provision of social care across different regions of the UK.

Gillian Keegan: No comparative assessment has been made. Adult social care is a devolved matter. On 7 September 2022, the Government announced £5.4 billion over 3 years for Adult Social Care. This includes over £3.6 billion to reform the social care charging system and enable all local authorities to move towards paying providers a fair rate for care. It also includes over £1.7 billion for major improvements across the social care system in England, including at least £500 million investment in the workforce. The Government is committed to ensuring that wider funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources. The Government will work closely with local partners and take stock of the challenges and opportunities they face, before consulting on any potential funding reform.

Attorney General

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, on what dates each new investigation was opened by the Serious Fraud Office from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2021; and whether each of those investigations (a) was into a corporate or an individual and (b) is ongoing or complete.

Alex Chalk: Over the five-year period of 2016 to 2021, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opened almost 50 cases. The SFO proactively publishes information about its criminal investigations on its website: https://www.sfo.gov.uk/our-cases/ whenever it is appropriate to do. This includes details on when the investigation was opened and whether it relates to individuals or a corporate body. In order to protect the investigative process, it is not always possible - or even desirable - for the SFO to announce investigations prematurely. Because of the small number of live investigations that the SFO has open at any one time and the covert nature of many of them, disclosing a breakdown of numbers and the focus of each, could potentially compromise ongoing efforts. The SFO investigates and prosecutes the most serious and complex cases of fraud, bribery, and corruption. The size and complexity of those cases, including the volume of victims and witnesses, means that it can take a number of years for a full investigation to be carried out.

Prosecutions

Steve Reed: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of prosecutions have been suspended once charges have been made as a result of a victim (a) not providing evidence or (b) withdrawing in each of the last five years.

Alex Chalk: The below table sets out the number and percentage of Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) cases over the last five years where a non-conviction outcome occurred due to complainant/victim issue.  2016-20172017-20182018-20192019-20202020-2021Complainant/Victim Issues20,77417,81115,39911,7139,609 % of Total Prosecutions3.5%3.3%3.1%2.6%2.6% Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System Non-conviction outcomes involving complainant/Victim issues occur when one or all of the following apply: failure to attend or refusal to be called to give evidence, withdrawal of a complaint, including cases where complainants/victims have been intimidated but it is inappropriate to compel them to attend court and if the evidence of a complainant/victim fails to support the prosecution of the defendant, including issues of credibility, but there has been no retraction.

Department for Education

Children: Safety

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of covid-19 lockdowns on the ability of local authorities and partner organisations and agencies to safeguard children.

Will Quince: Individuals who work to support children and families must be clear of what is expected of them, and how they need to work together in partnership with others. ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)’ is the statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and respond to their needs. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/942454/Working_together_to_safeguard_children_inter_agency_guidance.pdf.Targeted area inspections, carried out jointly by Ofsted, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales, and the Care Quality Commission, provide a rigorous assessment of the quality of these multi-agency arrangements in a local area.We know that lockdown has been a difficult time for safeguarding partners and appreciate all that they have done to safeguard vulnerable children in challenging circumstances. However, the statutory duty to work together and provide quality safeguarding services remained unchanged.The department has been in close contact with all safeguarding partners throughout the COVID-19 outbreak to ensure they continued to identify and risk assess children in their areas. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 outbreak added challenges to services’ ability to identify and work with families, especially those intent to deceive them.The department launched the See, Hear, Respond programme aimed to support vulnerable children and young people whose usual support networks were impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and national restrictions. The government provided over £11 million to the programme which was delivered between June 2020 and March 2021 by a consortium of over 70 national and local organisations.In April 2020, the government made £1.8 million available to the NSPCC to expand and promote its national helpline for adults to report concerns. While schools, social workers and the police remain at the forefront of work to protect vulnerable children, expanding the NSPCC helpline will mean many more adults know how and where to raise concerns and seek advice or support about the safety and wellbeing of any child or young person they are worried about.

Children in Care: Death

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in care aged 16 and 17 died while they were living in (a) semi-independent or (b) independent accommodation in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: The total number of looked after children, aged 16 to 17 years, who have died whilst in independent or semi-independent accommodation during the 5-year period between 2016-17 to 2020-2021, was 29. Due to the small numbers involved, this figure cannot be broken down by accommodation status, age or into separate years to protect confidentiality.

Universities: Gifts and Endowments

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on the acceptance of large donations by University colleges from foreign billionaires closely linked with regimes with poor human rights records; how that policy would apply to the proposed acceptance by Linacre College, Oxford of £155 million from a billionaire based in Vietnam, with close links to the Vietnamese government; and what recommendation his Department will make to the Privy Council on whether Linacre College should be permitted to rename itself after the Chairwoman of the company making the donation as a condition of receiving the money.

Michelle Donelan: The security guidelines, commissioned at my request and published by Universities UK in October 2020, entitled ‘Managing risks in internationalisation: security-related issues’, advise universities on engaging in secure international collaborations. This includes a recommendation that due diligence should be conducted on all international partnerships, including donations. Universities due diligence processes should consider reputational, ethical and security risks. As autonomous institutions, universities will have their own fundraising and gift acceptance policies in place.In line with the offer that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office extends to all organisations and businesses looking to work with Vietnamese entities, Linacre College and the University of Oxford have received background information, at their request, on working with Vietnamese entities.If the Privy Council asks the department for advice, we will consider the case based on the facts before us.As my right hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has recently stated, we intend to further explore the issues raised in the proposed Report Stage amendment to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, seeking to introduce transparency and public reporting of foreign donations to universities.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will issue guidance to universities that they are not to require (a) healthcare students, (b) social care students and (c) any other students to be vaccinated against covid-19 as a condition of education.

Michelle Donelan: There is no requirement for students to be vaccinated to access education. However, we strongly encourage all students to be vaccinated as soon as possible, unless they are medically exempt.On 31 January 2022, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced that the legal requirement for health and social care staff to be fully vaccinated is to be removed, subject to consultation and parliamentary approval. The outcome of the consultation will be published soon.While the legal requirement on vaccinations as a condition of deployment is set to be revoked, those working in health and social care are still strongly urged to get vaccinated and boosted as a professional responsibility.We will continue working with DHSC, Health Education England and NHS England as this policy area evolves to make sure messages on vaccinations are communicated clearly to students.

Children: Social Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the abolition of the national assessment and accreditation system for children’s social workers, whether his Department plans to consult (a) representatives of the social work profession and (b) other relevant stakeholders on the long-term future of post-qualification social work training and career development.

Will Quince: The department invests over £50 million each year on recruiting and developing child and family social workers to ensure that the workforce has the capacity, skills and knowledge to support and protect vulnerable children.The decision to end the current delivery model of the national assessment and accreditation system in March 2022 has been informed by feedback from social workers, local authorities and other stakeholders, as well as learning from other professions that have moved to remote assessment during the COVID-19 outbreak.We remain committed to assessment and accreditation as a key element of continuing improvements in children’s social care, and we will continue to engage and collaborate with the sector and other stakeholders as we develop the long-term future of post-qualification training and development for child and family social workers.

Children: Social Services

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of social service departments in each region of England have been rated (a) inadequate or (b) requires improvement by Ofsted.

Will Quince: The inspection of Local Authority Children’s Social Services by Ofsted is undertaken on a rolling programme. The current proportion of Children’ Social care services found to be inadequate or requiring improvement is shown in the attached table, broken down by region.125327_table (pdf, 149.1KB)

Children in Care: Death

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to review the deaths of 22 children in care aged 16 and 17 while they were living in (a) semi-independent or (b) independent accommodation between 2018 and 2020.

Will Quince: When a child dies, in any circumstances, it is important to understand what has happened and whether there are any lessons to be learned. The responsibility for ensuring child death reviews are carried out is held by the local authority and any clinical commissioning groups operating in the local authority area.In addition to these reviews, where a child dies or is seriously harmed, and neglect or abuse is known or suspected, it is the responsibility of the local Safeguarding Partnership to undertake a local child safeguarding practice review. The National Panel will also review all notifications of serious incidents and consider relevant learning. Where learning is of national importance, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel may undertake a national review. The department will respond or disseminate national recommendations made in these reviews.

Children: Social Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of Frontline on (a) retention and (b) vacancy rates in children’s social work.

Will Quince: The government is committed to improving the recruitment and retention of social workers to ensure local authorities are best able to protect and care for vulnerable children and families.Frontline trains around 450 social workers each year. Social workers trained by the Frontline programme have made a contribution towards retention which is comparable to those who train through other routes. A study undertaken by Cardiff University to track the retention and progression of Frontline and Step Up to Social Work graduates found “no evidence that attrition rates for fast-track-trained social workers at 18 months after qualification are higher than they are for social workers trained via mainstream programmes”. The final report was published in December 2021 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-work-fast-track-programmes-tracking-study.

Children: Social Services

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the adequacy of children’s social care services in England.

Will Quince: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, meets regularly with other Cabinet ministers to discuss matters that fall within his portfolio.Children’s social care is an important area of policy for the Secretary of State, and we are shortly expecting the outcome of the independent review into children’s social care, led by Josh MacAlister, later this year.

National School Breakfast Programme

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have been reached with a free breakfast as part of the National School Breakfast Programme so far in the academic year 2021-22.

Will Quince: The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme until July 2023. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment and wellbeing.The enrolment process is still underway for schools that wish to sign up to the programme. As of 22 December 2021, 1,245 schools had signed up and 847 schools had placed food orders. We will work with our supplier Family Action to monitor the data and consider suitable opportunities to share more information on the programme as it progresses, including in relation to the number of children and young people that are benefiting from the programme.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of levels of vaccine hesitancy among parents of children aged (a) five to 11 and (b) 12 to 15.

Mr Robin Walker: Vaccinations help to increase protection against COVID-19. Being vaccinated minimises the need for children and young people to have time off from school or college, and helps them to continue to carry out their hobbies, attend social events and live their lives to the full.As of 19 February 2022, the UK COVID-19 dashboard reports that 55.9% of 12 to 15 year olds have received the vaccination since September, and we continue to see vaccination rates increase.To support the COVID-19 vaccination programme for young people, the NHS, Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education are working together to make it more efficient and increase the scale and pace of delivery. We are also working to target communications to parents, young people and the public to improve uptake and increase overall confidence in the programme. The department is continually working to support the NHS to better engage with parents and understand their needs and concerns regarding the vaccination programme. This includes identifying the preferred communication approaches, channels and content for parents to access reliable, impartial information and make informed decisions.The NHS will prepare to extend the non-urgent offer of COVID-19 vaccination to children aged 5 to 11 during April so parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of COVID-19 as we learn to live with this virus. In all instances, the offer of vaccination will be accompanied by appropriate information to enable children, and those with parental responsibility, to provide informed consent prior to vaccination and encourage children to discuss the decision with their parents.

Primary Education: Assessments

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119780 on Primary Education: Assessments, how will data from the national statistics be analysed to understand trends in education recovery; whether data from multiplication tables check in year 4 be included in that analysis; what his timescale for completing and publishing this analysis is; and whether primary schools will be required to share information about pupil attainment at key stage 2 with relevant secondary schools.

Mr Robin Walker: Primary school tests and assessments will be returning for the first time since 2019, and the data from the tests and assessments will enable us to understand the impact of COVID-19 disruption on the attainment and progress of all pupils. Where data is available, the department will assess the trends in education recovery by comparing the attainment level (for example, the proportion of key stage 2 pupils reaching the expected standards in reading, writing and maths) of pupils taking the tests and national curriculum assessments in 2022, with the attainment level of pupils who took these before the COVID-19 outbreak.We will use data from multiplication tables check in year 4 to understand primary pupils’ attainment in maths. However, as 2022 will be the first time the multiplication tables check will be taken on a statutory basis, we will not be able to compare the performance of pupils taking the checks this year with the results from a previous cohort to assess education recovery.The interim key stage 2 national curriculum assessments statistics will be released in July 2022. Further detail, including breakdowns at local authority level and by school and pupil characteristics, will be released in the provisional key stage 2 national curriculum assessments statistics in September 2022. The multiplication tables check statistics will be released between September and October 2022.When a pupil changes school, including when they change phase of education, schools are required to share securely the pupil's educational records, including information about attainment in relevant statutory tests and assessments.Maintained schools are required to transfer this information by law, through The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005 (S.I 1437). Academies and free schools are required to transfer the information through obligations in their individual funding agreements.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the School Aged Immunisation Service will be involved in the vaccination of five to 11 year olds against covid-19; and what additional resources he plans to provide to ensure the effectiveness of the programme.

Mr Robin Walker: On 16 February 2022, the government accepted advice from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to make a non-urgent offer of COVID-19 vaccinations to all children aged 5 to 11 in England. The NHS will prepare to extend the non-urgent offer of COVID-19 vaccination to children aged 5 to 11 during April so parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of COVID-19 as we learn to live with this virus.The system letter, published on 18 February by the NHS, confirms that community pharmacy-led local vaccination services and centres should be the primary delivery models for this cohort. This letter can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/updated-jcvi-advice-for-vaccinating-5-to-11-year-olds/.The NHS is also currently offering vaccinations to at-risk children and those who live with immunosuppressed people in this age group. Parents and guardians of at-risk children aged 5 to 11 should wait for the NHS to contact them, with local NHS teams already contacting those who are eligible.

Schools: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of lifting covid-19 restrictions on sickness rates in school among pupils and teachers.

Mr Robin Walker: The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which includes the modelling group, Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M), leads on the overall assessments of the course of the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact of lifting COVID-19 restrictions.The department regularly reviews data, analysis and advice from a number of different sources, including SAGE, the UK Health Security Agency, and the Office for National Statistics. We also work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care as well as local authorities and their directors of public health to inform our planning and response. The government will continue to be guided by the latest evidence, including the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice on deploying vaccinations. This includes the recent decision to offer vaccination to all 5- to 11-year-olds.The past 2 years have seen many necessary restrictions imposed on everyday life to manage COVID-19, but these have come with a huge toll on wellbeing, economic output and education. The department’s priority is for schools to deliver face to face, high-quality education to all pupils. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances and mental and physical health. Therefore, the government has made it a national priority that education and childcare providers should continue to operate as normally as possible during the COVID-19 outbreak. Latest published data from 10 February shows that COVID-19 related pupil absence in all state-funded schools had fallen to 2.2% and COVID-19 related teacher and leader absence had fallen to 2.8%.The government is able to take the step of removing restrictions now because of the success of the vaccination programme, and the suite of pharmaceutical tools the NHS can deploy to treat people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 and the most severely ill.

Teachers: Workplace Pensions

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on the Teachers' Pension Scheme in the event that independent schools and private academy trusts withdraw from that scheme.

Mr Robin Walker: The Teachers’ Pensions Scheme (TPS) is principally designed and operated to support recruitment and retention of high-quality teaching staff in maintained schools, who constitute the vast majority of TPS members. All maintained schools, including academy trust schools, are required to participate in the TPS for their teaching staff.Independent schools participate in the TPS voluntarily, with many independent schools already choosing not to participate. Teachers at participating independent schools represent a small proportion of the overall TPS membership.All public service pension schemes, including the TPS, are subject to actuarial valuations every 4 years. This helps maintain the sustainability of the scheme by taking a fair and reasonable assessment of the current cost of providing pensions into the future and setting contribution rates accordingly. Amongst a wide range of data and assumptions involved, the actuarial valuation process takes account of changes in member numbers.Any impact from independent schools choosing to cease participating in the TPS will, therefore, be assessed as part of the actuarial valuation currently taking place. This is due to be reported next year. It is too early in the process to predict the impact, but the reduction in future pension benefits being built up will be considered, as will the reduction in contribution income received.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish his estimated projections for the number of prisoners expected to be housed by Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service in each of the next five years.

Victoria Atkins: This prison population projections (for England and Wales from July 2021 to March 2026) are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-population-projections-2021-to-2026.Please refer to table 1.1 of the statistical tables for the total prison population projection for each year.We are committed to building as many prison places as we need.We are investing £3.8 billion over the next three years to deliver 20,000 additional, modern prison places including 2,000 temporary prison places across England and Wales by the mid-2020s. This includes the new prison in Northamptonshire, HMP Five Wells, which received its first prisoners on 4 February 2022 and provides c1700 places.These additional prison places will ensure we meet our commitments to deliver a robust and fit for purpose prison estate.

Prisoners' Release: Females

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how insecure and temporary accommodation for women leaving prison is accounted for in his Department's data of accommodation outcomes for former female offenders.

Victoria Atkins: To ensure consistent and accurate data recording, HMPPS, in collaboration with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) and the Welsh Government, has recently updated the Accommodation Recording Guidance to ensure Probation regions have a clear and consistent understanding of the accommodation status definitions, and how to record accurately. The Guidance defines homelessness as where an individual is rough sleeping, squatting, residing in night shelters, emergency hostels or campsites. Individuals with other forms of temporary, short-term or otherwise unstable accommodation is encompassed by the ‘unsettled accommodation’ category in published statistics.As part of our commitment to eliminate rough sleeping, we are working across Government, with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), the Welsh Government and other Government Departments, to address the barriers offenders face in securing suitable accommodation.Our Prisons White Paper sets out our vision that no-one subject to probation supervision is released from prison homeless. We will invest £200 million a year by 2024-25 to improve prison leavers’ access to accommodation, employment support, and substance misuse treatment. We are also delivering on our manifesto commitment to launch a new Prisoner Education Service, so that prisoners can gain the qualifications and skills they need to gain employment on release. By focusing on the factors we know reduce reoffending – employability, maintaining ties with family, accommodation, support through the gates and tackling substance misuse – we can help prison leavers resettle successfully in the community and turn their backs on crime.Accommodation circumstances for offenders are reported annually as official statistics. Data for the period 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 will be published in July 2022 in the Community Performance Annual report.

Immigration

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to widen access to justice for people applying for settlement under the Immigration Rules.

James Cartlidge: Legal aid has been and will continue to be available for asylum cases, for victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery, for separated migrant children and for immigration cases where someone is challenging a detention decision. Where an issue falls outside the scope of legal aid, funding may still be available through the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) Scheme.We are expanding legal aid provision through the Nationality and Borders Bill, facilitating access to justice for individuals applying under the Immigration Rules. We are providing up to seven hours of legal advice without the need for financial eligibility testing for individuals at risk of priority removal from the country, alongside legal advice for potential victims of modern slavery, to ensure that potential victims can be properly identified and supported throughout the process. We are reviewing responses received to our call for evidence on immigration legal aid fees and the online tribunal procedure. We will publish a consultation on new immigration legal aid fees in this year.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Staff

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many officials in her Department are working on the negotiations on the application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Penny Mordaunt: As of January 2022, the Department for International Trade had just over 600 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff working directly on trade negotiations. The Department for International Trade operates a flexible resourcing model in order to maximise efficiency across our free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. The number of staff working on a FTA at any one time will change depending on the stage and scale of the negotiations. Staff will also often be working across multiple negotiations.

Arms Trade: Yemen

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Government’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, whether she has conducted a review of relevant licences following the 19 January 2022 bombings of the C-Plas and the Ibn Sina Hospitals in Amanat Al Asimah, Yemen; and whether any licences have been suspended or revoked as a result of that review.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: All licences – to all markets – are kept under careful and continual review and we are able to suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require. An export licence will not be granted (or, if extant, it would be revoked) if it is incompatible with any of the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. This includes Criterion 2c, whether there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: East Kilbride

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of the staff in the Department for International Development who left their posts following the merger with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in September 2020 were based in East Kilbride.

Vicky Ford: Data about departing staff is collected as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) cross government data collection, and published by the Cabinet Office. Data for FCDO leavers by government department and leaving cause can be found in Table 42 of https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1006364/Statistical_tables_-_Civil_Service_Statistics_2021.xlsx

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her US counterpart on reports that Iran may have enough material to acquire nuclear weapons in weeks.

James Cleverly: Iran's nuclear programme is more advanced than it has ever been. We are in the end game of negotiations to restore the JCPoA and reverse Iran's nuclear escalation. A conclusion is needed in the coming days. In a call on 15 February, and in person in Munich on 18 February, the Foreign Secretary discussed with her French, German and US counterparts the urgency of concluding this deal and returning Iran to full compliance with its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA. The Foreign Secretary also discussed this with Secretary Blinken on 12 February and with Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian on 14 February.

Afghanistan: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119771, what obligations her Department has to UK nationals remaining in Afghanistan after the end of Operation Pitting.

James Cleverly: Since 28 August 2021, the British Embassy in Kabul has suspended in-country operations and cannot provide in-person consular services to British nationals in Afghanistan. We encourage all British nationals in Afghanistan to check FCDO Travel Advice and confirm their presence on the online registration system. British nationals in Afghanistan can continue to access consular assistance by phone on a 24/7 basis. The FCDO has assisted British nationals to leave Afghanistan when safe options are available such as Qatar Government sponsored charter flights. British nationals who are in possession of valid passports and their immediate Afghan family dependants (spouse and children under 18) who hold valid UK visas, or UK residency permits, are eligible to travel on Qatari Government chartered flights from Kabul to Doha. These flights are irregular, often operating at short notice and controlled by the Qatari Government. FCDO Travel Advice notes that commercial flights are available but encourage people to check the safety notices published by the UK civil aviation authority. Many British nationals, whose family members do not have a valid UK entry clearance, choose to remain in Afghanistan. We remain ready to assist where possible.

Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ratify Protocol V of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons; and when that convention will be ratified by the House.

James Cleverly: The comprehensive cross-Government review of Protocol V ratification continues. We hope to conclude shortly, and will update more fully at that point. The UK already abides by the spirit of the protocol and existing UK Armed Forces operational policy and practice are in line with obligations. We remain committed to its humanitarian aims.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what cost her Department will assign to excess donated vaccines, in the context of the absence of agreement in OECD DAC to reach an agreement on the pricing of surplus vaccine dose donations.

Amanda Milling: The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Secretariat has now provided guidance for reporting donations of excess COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021 in Official Development Assistance (ODA). The UK is considering this guidance together with our other commitments and obligations, and is actively engaging with the OECD's DAC Secretariat on valuing Covid-19 vaccines in ODA in 2021. The DAC Secretariat will review their methodology for donations in 2022.

Afghanistan: Repatriation

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Qatari counterpart on the evacuation of eligible personnel from Afghanistan in light of recent evacuation steps taken by the US.

James Cleverly: We remain grateful to our Qatari Government partners for their generous support in providing a safe route for British Nationals and their eligible Afghan dependants to leave Afghanistan. We are working closely with the Government of Qatar on the possible resumption of flights, currently blocked by the Taliban. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister responsible for South Asia and I [Minister Cleverly] have both had productive recent discussions with the Qataris to that end.

Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the assassination attempt on Libyan prime minister, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah.

James Cleverly: The UK is working with international partners to support the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor to Libya, Stephanie Williams, to mediate a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned inclusive political process, including the delivery of free, fair and credible elections. All parties must refrain from actions that could undermine the progress of the last two years and continue to fully implement and respect the October 2020 ceasefire agreement.

Humanitarian Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have received humanitarian and social protection support from her Department in each of the last 10 years.

James Cleverly: The way in which we estimate beneficiary numbers has changed during the period in question. Between 2011 and 2016 FCDO (DFID at the time) reached 8.94 million people with cash transfers, against a target of at least six million people reached for social protection. From 2015 and March 2020 FCDO (DFID at the time) reached 33.7 million individuals with humanitarian assistance (food aid, cash and voucher transfers). Many of these individuals are likely to have received assistance in more than one year. Results have not been collected for this instance since March 2020.

Development Aid: Water

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department spent on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities in each of its top 10 health programmes in the world’s 47 least-developed countries, in each of the last three years.

Amanda Milling: Annual UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on water and sanitation, can be found in the respective Annual Statistics on International Development publications: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development. The results for 2021 will be published in autumn this year.UK ODA expenditure is recorded in line with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Development Assistance Committee coding. These codes do not specifically record water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) spend for healthcare facilities. However, we support WASH services in healthcare facilities in our policy work through the "WASH In Healthcare Facilities" international taskforce, through our bilateral programming such as our innovative hand hygiene partnership with Unilever, and through our core multilateral funding including via the World Bank and the World Health Organisation. We also provide funding to the UNICEF-WHO Joint Monitoring Programme to track overall progress on Water and Sanitation, this initiative publishes data on the situation of WASH in Healthcare facilities.

Sovico Group: Linacre College

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what advice her Department has given to representatives of (a) Linacre College and (b) Oxford University on the (i) proposed acceptance of £155 million from a billionaire (A) based in Vietnam and (B) close to the Vietnamese Communist Government and (ii) planned renaming of Linacre College after the chairwoman of the company offering the donation; and what consideration was given, in formulating that advice, to the adverse findings by Human Rights Watch regarding restrictions on freedom of speech, opinion, association, religion and the press.

Amanda Milling: Universities are autonomous and will have their own fundraising and gift acceptance policies in place. University due diligence processes should consider reputational, ethical and security risks when deciding whether to accept any donation.FCDO Officials have given background information to Linacre College and the University of Oxford, at the request of these institutions, in line with the advice we offer UK organisations and businesses looking to work with Vietnamese entities.

Development Aid: Agriculture

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that small-scale farmers in developing countries receive funding from the Government's climate finance commitments.

Vicky Ford: FCDO's existing agriculture portfolio contains programmes that are specifically designed to help smallholder farmers in the most climate vulnerable countries to adopt sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. For example, with UK International Climate Finance (ICF), we are supporting the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness programme (CASA) and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP) which help countries, producer organisations and agri-businesses to address climate change through the adoption of mitigation and adaptation technologies and much-needed related capacity building.The most recent review of the wider FCDO portfolio on agriculture (available at https://www.casaprogramme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CAPR-2020_May_Final.pdf) found that 20 million farmers had their income improved (earning a total of £320 million more) and four million smallholders increased their agricultural productivity over the period under consideration.The UK has committed to doubling its spend on International Climate Finance (ICF) to £11.6 billion over the next five years and as we mobilise these funds we will continue to support the most vulnerable people, including farmers, adapt and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the context of the absence of OECD DAC agreement on the pricing of surplus vaccine dose donations, and the issuance of guidance by the DAC Secretariat, whether the remaining 70 million surplus vaccine doses to be donated to countries in need by June 2022 will be counted as Official Development Assistance.

Amanda Milling: The DAC Secretariat has now provided guidance for reporting donations of excess COVID-19 vaccine doses in ODA for 2021 only. We will continue to engage as the DAC Secretariat review their methodology for donations in 2022.

Development Aid: Climate Change

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) identify and (b) fund projects following the launch of the £65 million Just Rural Transition support programme at COP26.

Vicky Ford: The Just Rural Transition Support Programme will work with developing countries to design and implement approaches that help their farmers build resilience and drive investment into more sustainable methods of agriculture through repurposing agricultural policies and support. This programme will build on and scale-up current UK Government support to the Just Rural Transition (£9 million, 2020-23), which is helping countries to take initial steps towards implementing sustainable land use policies and practices, to deliver benefits for people, climate and nature. Programme funds will be used for analytical support to help identify opportunities, technical assistance to design new policies and support schemes, engagement with farmer groups and local communities in the development of schemes, and assisting with the resources required to run trials and pilots leading on to implementation at scale. The programme is still at the design phase with the selection of partner countries expected to follow later this year.The Just Rural Transition programme builds on an existing $2 million partnership with the World Bank that is currently supporting nine countries to assess opportunities for repurposing public policies and support and on funding to a Policy Action Coalition under the Just Rural Transition initiative to support a transition to sustainable agriculture.

Brazil: Rainforests

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of reports that more than 1,000 square km of the Amazon rainforest has been felled to expand soya farms in Mato Grosso, Brazil, despite an agreement to protect that area.

Vicky Ford: While we are concerned by the rising rates of deforestation in the Amazon, we were pleased to welcome Brazil's positive commitments at COP26. Brazil signed the Forest and Land Use pledge and committed to eliminating illegal deforestation by 2028, and to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. The UK will support this and other climate commitments by doubling our International Climate Finance to £11.6 billion over the next five years - we will be investing at least £3 billion of this in solutions that protect and restore nature.In addition, we have introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. Our law will make it illegal for larger businesses operating in the UK to use key forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or used. The UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya brings together significant players in the UK soya market, creating a space for companies and industry associations to work together to achieve a shared goal of a secure, resilient, sustainable supply of soya to the UK, with joint progress monitoring and reporting.The UK will continue to work with Brazilian stakeholders, including the Federal Government, state level leadership, the private sector and civil society to help tackle deforestation and protect the rainforest.

Lindsay de Feliz

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has provided support to the government of the Dominican Republic for the investigation into the death of Lindsay de Feliz in that country.

Vicky Ford: The FCDO is not aware of any requests for assistance from the Dominican Republic to support their investigation into the death of Lindsay De Feliz. FCDO officials have been in regular contact with Ms De Feliz's family to provide them with dedicated consular assistance for those bereaved through murder or manslaughter abroad. We will continue to offer support to the family throughout the trial, but the UK cannot interfere in another country's investigation or judicial processes, just as we do not allow other governments to interfere in our own systems.

Development Aid: Tropical Diseases

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the evidence submission by the World Health Organisation to the International Development Committee in June 2021, what information her Department holds on what has happened to the estimated in-country inventory of 276,802,004 tablets at risk of expiry and incineration.

Amanda Milling: The UK reached hundreds of millions of people affected by neglected tropical diseases through our Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases programme. The FCDO worked with implementing partners, pharmaceutical companies, donors and the World Health Organisation to mitigate the impact of our exit from the programme and we continued the delivery of urgent activities until August 2021. There have been no reported cases of donated drugs being destroyed and in some cases, activities have been continued by other donors. The full results of the programme will be published on the government development tracker (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk) by March 2022.

Ministry of Defence

Navy

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Royal Navy ships and (b) admirals there are as of 18 February 2022.

James Heappey: As of 18 February 2022 there are 80 Royal Navy ships including Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels and 40 Admirals or equivalent Officers serving in the Ministry of Defence.

Veterans: Identity Cards

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2021 to Question 80335, whether a timetable for delivery of the update on Veteran ID cards has been agreed.

Leo Docherty: In the Veterans' Strategy Action Plan: 2022-2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterans-strategy-action-plan-2022-to-2024) the Government committed to exploring the secure, digital verification of veterans' status. This work is underway, and we are currently working with veterans and other stakeholders to ensure any solution meets the needs of all veterans. This will support delivery of the Phase 2 roll out of the Veteran ID cards to existing veterans. The Government is still committed to delivering ID cards but cannot give a timescale for final delivery as this work is in progress.

Armed Forces: Young People

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether an army recruit aged under 18 has a statutory right of discharge (a) during the first six weeks of training and (b) after that point; and whether a notice period applies.

Leo Docherty: The Ministry of Defence takes the duty of care for all our personnel, and in particular those aged under 18, extremely seriously and recognises that those aged under 18 should be treated with special consideration. All recruits enlisting into the Regular Army for the first time have the right to claim their termination according to the terms of their engagement, known as Discharge as of Right (DAOR).Recruits aged under 18 can choose to leave the Army up until their 18th birthday by giving 14 days written notice to their Commanding Officer (CO).If aged under 18 years at attestation, following completion of 28 days service soldiers can DAOR at any time within 6 months from the date of attestation. 14 days written notice must be given to the CO.

Military Bases

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Command Paper, published March 2021, how much of the £4.3 billion in funding for the Defence Estates Optimisation plan has been spent in the last year.

Jeremy Quin: The Defence Estate Optimisation Portfolio (DEOP) remains on target to invest £4.3 billion over the next decade, having invested over £50 million in new homes, working and training facilities for our Armed Forces over the last year. In addition to DEOP, the Ministry of Defence has invested more than £750 million in SFA improvements over the last six years. During financial year 2020/2021, c£190 million (including £68 million of Government Fiscal Stimulus funding) was invested to improve the quality of SFA.

Defence: Job Creation

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Command Paper, published March 2021, how many new highly skilled jobs were created by the UK combat air industry in 2021.

Jeremy Quin: The March 2021 Defence Command Paper noted that 18,000 people were employed in the UK combat air sector and that the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme had created 1,800 skilled jobs. FCAS is expected to be the primary driver for new recruitment into the combat air industry and from consultation with our industry partners we understand that by the end of 2021 over 2,000 skilled professionals were employed on the programme.

Armed Forces: Housing

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Command Paper, published in March 2021, how much of the £1.5 billion of funding for improving single living accommodation has been allocated to future projects.

Jeremy Quin: The £1.5 billion is split across multiple different programmes, some of which are contracts for builds that are cross-cutting to other accommodation types. I will write to the hon. Member with further detail.

Defence: Research

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Command Paper, published March 2021, how much of the £6.6 billion allocated for research, development, and experimentation over four years has been spent in the last year.

Jeremy Quin: Supplementary estimates were published on 22 February 2022 which show our current in-year (financial year 21/22) forecast of £1.5 billion on capital research and development. The department is currently forecasting to exceed the ringfence over four years. The final annual spend will be confirmed in the Annual Report and Accounts.

Future Combat Air System

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Command Paper, published March 2021, how much of the £2 billion in funding for strategic investment in the Future Combat Air System has been spent in the last year.

Jeremy Quin: The March 2021 Defence Command Paper highlighted that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) would make a strategic investment of £2 billion in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) over the following four years. Since March 2021, the MOD has spent approximately £296.4 million on FCAS.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2021, on what date her Department plans to resume publication of benefit sanction durations data.

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2021, for what reasons her Department has not given an update on progress made on the suspension of benefit sanction durations data beyond the original reasons stated in the November 2020 publication of that data.

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2021, if she will publish further details on the on the reasons for the suspension of universal credit full service decisions data.

Mims Davies: DWP has recently moved to a new data platform to store and process data. During our live running process an issue was identified with the availability of software required to process Universal Credit full service (UCFS) sanction decisions data. This is currently being investigated and we aim to reinstate the decisions measure as soon as possible. We expect to provide a further update in late March 2022.

Universal Credit

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to take steps to improve universal credit service delivery.

David Rutley: The Department regularly reviews both the numbers of people working in Universal Credit operations and their performance against service standards, and the effectiveness of staff training. Assessments are made in real time to meet any short-term peaks in demand and are also regularly reviewed for longer term improvements to ensure the service continues to meet customer expectations. The Department gathers and analyses feedback from our stakeholders, which helps drive improvement to the service we deliver; ensuring welfare payments reach those who need them the most.

Universal Credit

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) response time by work coaches to people who have submitted entries on their online universal credit journal, and (b) call waiting time for people seeking support with a universal credit claim from her Department’s helpline; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of those waiting times.

David Rutley: Universal Credit is a 24/7 digital service that allows claimants to manage their own data and account online. Via their account, claimants can check their Universal Credit benefit payments, notify us of changes and record notes on the online journal facility. The journal is primarily used to support work search activity and not every journal entry requires a response. The Case Manager or Work Coach receives a notification in real time each time a claimant submits an entry to their online journal. Journal entries are monitored daily as part of our case management approach. The Universal Credit helpline is available to support claimants who are unable to access digital services. We regularly review our resources, both internally and with our suppliers, to ensure we meet customer demand across all contact services, including our phone lines. Average Speed of Answer measures the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent. The Average Speed of Answer for all Universal Credit Service Lines for January 2022 was 33 seconds. Note: The data is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Work and Health Programme

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department spent on the Work and Health Programme in each year since 2017-18 inclusive.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many referrals were made to the Work and Health Programme in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2019-20, (d) 2020-21 and (e) 2021-22.

Chloe Smith: The Work and Health Programme (WHP) official statistics are published on a three-monthly cycle on Gov.uk. The statistics include information on referrals, starts and job outcomes and are available here. The programme spend is the direct spend to providers. DWP’s costs that are associated with managing performance and referrals is in addition to the table below. Work and Health Programme2017/182018/192019/202020/21Programme Spend (£m's) 6.746.062.975.2

Personal Independence Payment: Pain

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to assess the suitability of the personal independence payment assessment criteria for people with chronic pain.

Chloe Smith: PIP is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability, such as a chronic pain condition. Entitlement is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from the health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. There are currently over 151,000 people in receipt of PIP whose primary disabling condition is a chronic pain condition.

Identity Cards: Disability

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing an identity scheme for people with hidden disabilities.

Chloe Smith: The Government has no plans to introduce a new national disability identity card. We are aware that some disabled people are actively against having to carry a card which confirms their impairment. Other people who may meet the criteria for the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability do not identify as disabled, yet may require reasonable adjustments. The Equality Act requires service providers to make adjustments to their practices, policies and procedures for all people who meet its definition of a disabled person, where reasonable. There are however a number of optional schemes and cards in the UK that have been created to meet particular needs and which give people the choice to use them if they wish, such as the Hidden Disability Sunflower Scheme which discreetly identifies where additional support may be needed and is gaining widespread recognition, and Nimbus Disability’s Access Card which can help when communicating with a business about the types of support or reasonable adjustments that might be needed to access their services.

Statutory Sick Pay: Coronavirus

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact the covid-19 pandemic on levels of day one access to Statutory Sick Pay.

Chloe Smith: Employers are not required to report payments of Statutory Sick Pay. The data requested is therefore not available.

Maternity Allowance

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2021 to Question 42053 on Maternity Allowance, and with reference to Table 7 of the quarterly Maternity Allowance statistics published by her Department on 15 February 2022, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the 45 per cent fall in the number of grants of Maternity Allowance to employed women between the four quarters ending on 31 May 2016, during which period there were 50,100 grants, and the four quarters ending on 31 August 2021, in which there were 27,480 grants.

Guy Opperman: Fewer Maternity Allowance claims were started in the year up to 31 August 2021, compared to the year up to 31 May 2016. This decrease is particularly evident in claims by employed women. A likely contributor to this is the decrease in the UK’s total fertility rate. This has fallen year-on-year from 1.92 in 2012, to 1.56 in 2020. Population projections continue to anticipate a decrease in 2021 and 2022.National population projections, fertility assumptions: 2020-based interim - Office for National Statistics [Figure 2]  We will continue to monitor fertility rates, as well as changes in the employment status and income of the female population over time, which impact on the number of MA claims.

Carer's Allowance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people in receipt of carers allowance receive the full amount.

Chloe Smith: Of the 932,028 claimants in receipt of Carer's Allowance, 99.5% received the full amount of £67.60, as of August 2021 according to the latest data. The published data can be access here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dwp-benefits-statistics-february-2022

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason UK pensioners who have (a) fully contributed throughout their working lives and (b) moved abroad after retirement have their state pension frozen at the rate which applied when they emigrated; and if she will (i) review the ethical basis of and (ii) take steps to bring an end to that practice.

Guy Opperman: The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions overseas is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. There are no plans to change this policy. This Government continues to take the view that priority should be given to those living in Great Britain when drawing up expenditure plans for pensioner benefits.

Carer's Allowance

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of  the potential merits of increasing carers allowance.

Chloe Smith: I refer the Hon member to the answer I gave on 20 December 2021 to question number 91990. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-12-13/91990

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fly-tipping: Sentencing

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will revise sentencing for fly-tipping to include a community service element to all sentences in addition to fines.

Jo Churchill: Ending the menace of fly-tipping is a priority – and measures such as digital waste tracking and improvements to waste licensing will significantly enhance our ability to prosecute waste criminals. Whilst sentencing is a matter for the independent courts, they already have powers to impose punishments of up to five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine, in the most serious instances, as well as community orders, when they see it as appropriate.

National Parks: Dorset

Chris Loder: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Natural England has invited the Dorset National Park team to be involved in the further assessment of the Dorset proposal.

Rebecca Pow: Natural England is undertaking a strategic England landscape assessment to identify areas which may have potential for future National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designation, as well as places for alternative landscape action. This assessment is providing an opportunity to gather a wide range of views including those of local stakeholders, including groups such as the Dorset National Park team. All designation orders made by Natural England are subject to the Secretary of State’s confirmation.

Home Office

Refugees: Afghanistan

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the month by month figures of Afghan refugees residing in bridging hotels, from 1 August 2021.

Victoria Atkins: We evacuated over 15,000 people in Operation Pitting and a further 1,500 since then. There are currently over 12,000 individuals from Afghanistan in bridging hotels.This cohort is made up of British and Afghan Nationals who may be eligible for Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).To date we have successfully moved over 4,000 people into permanent accommodation and are working at pace with our Local Authority partners to secure permanent accommodation for those still in temporary accommodation. We urge all Hon Members to speak to their LA and offer any further accommodation for resettlement of Afghans.The Home Office regularly monitors the number of individuals in this accommodation however at present there are no plans to publish month by month figures while we continue to evacuate from the region.

Immigration: Afghanistan

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support Afghan nationals after the end of their six 6 months leave to remain in the UK; and what steps her Department is taking to provide information, advice and support to those people before the end of that six month period.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has written to Afghan families advising them of the next steps to progress permanent residence in the UK.The Home Office has established a dedicated caseworking team, which is working jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence. This team is contacting those here in the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy and those moving onto the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, to assist them to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain status.While families are being accommodated in Bridging Hotel accommodation, their essential living needs are being met. We have already put in place numerous mechanisms to support families, this includes a contact centre, a DWP and Home Office Liaison officer (HOLO) presence to support Universal Credit enrolment, lead job surgeries and reassure families and a funding package of £28 per person per day for provision of Local Authority Wrap- around support services. We are providing full food and board to all guests alongside 24/7 security presence on site.The role of the HOLO is to provide both face to face support and remote support when not physically present. They are reactive to the needs of those accommodated in hotels and can provide signposting to other government departments and Local Authorities and ensure safeguarding concerns are appropriately acted upon.The provisions provided by the LA funding package include welcome services, needs identification, translation, healthcare in the hotels, GP registration, safeguarding and community cohesion support.We initiated a ‘Jobs First Pilot in 3 hotels on 31st January 2022. This is being led by DWP and aims to support guests within the hotels to find employment and begin their journey to financial independence.

Nationality and Borders Bill

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what economic impact assessment her Department has undertaken in respect of the Nationality and Borders Bill.

Tom Pursglove: The Nationality and Borders Bill is part of our New Plan for Immigration, delivering the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system in decades. The Home Office has and will continue to conduct relevant assessments as plans are developed to operationalise the policies being delivered through the Bill, including assessments of cost.

Visas

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the review into Tier 1 Investor visas, announced on 26 March 2018.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Immigration

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to take steps to simplify immigration law for (a) practitioners and (b) the public.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office is already taking steps to simplify immigration law, simplifying the Immigration Rules and consolidating primary legislation as part of its Simplification Programme of work.This Programme of work is part of our response to the Law Commission’s recommendations on Simplifying the Immigration Rules and recommendation in the Windrush Lessons Learned report to consolidate immigration law.Since autumn 2020, over 30 immigration routes have been simplified and more are reviewed and simplified with each major rules change.

Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of alleged incidents of crime reported to the police resulted in (a) a police charge, (b) an out of court disposal, (c) a referral to the CPS for a charging decision, (d) no further action or (e) any other outcome, in each of the last five years.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office routinely publishes statistics on the number of offences recorded by the police in England and Wales that result in charges and other resolutions, such as out of court disposals. The latest published figures can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/crime-outcomes-in-england-and-wales-year-to-september-2021-data-tablesTable 2.3 has information on outcomes assigned to offences by outcome type and year, going back to year to March 2015.The Home Office does not hold data on pre-charge activity by the police including the number of referrals to the CPS for a charging decision, but the CPS publishes data on a quarterly basis on referrals received from the police. The latest stats can be found here:Landing Page -> https://www.cps.gov.uk/publication/cps-quarterly-data-summariesLatest Report -> https://www.cps.gov.uk/publication/cps-data-summary-quarter-2-2021-2022

Migrants: Finance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her Answer of 2 November 2020 to Question 106891, what steps she has taken to progress her department's review and evaluation of the compliant environment public funds stream; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office continues to work closely with other Government departments on a range of cross cutting areas, with a particular emphasis on families and children. This includes working with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Scottish Government on the expansion of Healthy Start and Best Start Foods schemes to include British children whose parents are subject to the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition; working with the Department for Education in their review of eligibility for free school meals for children whose parents are subject to the NRPF condition; and working with the Department for Work and Pensions to design guidance for local authorities on the Covid Winter Support Grant covering the powers available to them and how to use the available funding to support families with the NRPF condition.Transparency and engagement remain at the heart of our approach to the evaluation of compliant environment policies and we will share the outcomes of this work as appropriate.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead of 26 October 2021, case number MP72139 on delays relating to an application for a replacement passport.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Drugs: Misuse

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 112 of the Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper, how much and what proportion of the total £100 million investment in Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) has been allocated to Newcastle.

Kit Malthouse: Through Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) we are trail-blazing a whole-system response to combatting drug misuse. Project ADDER combines targeted and tougher policing with enhanced treatment and recovery services.We have already committed a total of £59 million investment for Project ADDER from 20/21 - 22/23. Through the Government drug strategy entitled ‘Hope over Harm’ published on 6 December, we have also committed to extending Project ADDER for two more years until 2025.To date, the Newcastle ADDER project has been allocated a total of £3.3m for FY 2021-23. This includes £2.2m for Newcastle Council and £1.1m for Northumbria Police over two years. Further details of how ADDER sites can access funds to support the extension of projects for further two years will be set out in due course.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2022 to Question 102809, on Afghanistan: Refugees, what her Department's timeframe is for contacting Afghan citizens eligible for the third referral pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme who are not British Council or GardaWorld contractors or Chevening Alumni.

Victoria Atkins: The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January. The ACRS will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.The capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited. In Year 1, resettlement through the third pathway will be limited to those British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni who are most at risk. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be in touch with those eligible to support them through the next steps.Beyond the first year of the ACRS, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans most at risk under the third referral pathway.Information on how the ACRS will operate including the referral pathways are set in the oral statement of 6 January.https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/oral-statement-on-the-afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme

Refugees: Afghanistan

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) urgently move families evacuated from Afghanistan in August 2021 out of hotel accommodation and (b) enable families to retain reasonable proximity and connection with each other.

Victoria Atkins: We are working at pace across government and with local authorities (LAs) to source appropriate accommodation for Afghan families who were evacuated to the UK.Once properties are identified and referred to the Home Office, a matching exercise is undertaken which enables us to offer the property to a suitable family. Where possible, we will match families from local bridging hotels allowing them to remain in the area where they may have started to form connections and settle.The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities have set up an online housing portal Afghanistan housing portal - offers of support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) to allow people to submit offers of housing support for people who have arrived from Afghanistan. We are also engaging with landlords, letting agencies and industry bodies to promote the portal and encourage participation in the resettlement programme.This includes a partnership with Rightmove to identify potential properties available in the private rented sector, providing councils with additional information to source appropriate properties.We give families seven days’ notice of their move to long-term accommodation. This allows families time to prepare and discuss any concerns with their Home Office Liaison Officer. We also make them aware of their LA contacts.Once families move, LAs will support them to settle and integrate, into their new community including help accessing local services such as a GP, schools and employment.To assist with the successful integration of families to life in the UK we are piloting a ‘Jobs First Pilot’ in partnership with the Department of Work and Pensions. This pilot went live on 31 January. Participants will receive a range of support from Work Coaches to move into work. Importantly, participants will also receive support from a specialist cross government case working team to tackle non-employment barriers. LAs and charities are also actively supporting the pilot. The focus on both employment and non-employment barriers that prevent the take up of job offers will, it is hoped, increase the likelihood of a person moving into work, either in their current geographical area or in another part of the country..

Refugees: Afghanistan

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the policy of pursuing constrained Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and Afghan citizens resettlement schemes at the same time as seeking to implement reform of the asylum and immigration system under the terms of the Nationality and Borders Bill.

Victoria Atkins: The UK has a proud track record of helping those who need our protection – and this will continue.The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) launched on 1 April 2021. More than 7,000 people have been relocated under ARAP so far, with more continuing to arrive.The ARAP scheme remains open to eligible applicants.The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is separate to ARAP and commenced on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.Alongside our response to Afghanistan, the UK continues to welcome those most at risk, including refugees through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and Mandate Resettlement Schemes. Since 2015, we have resettled more than 26,000 refugees through safe and legal routes direct from regions of conflict and instability - around half of whom were children.The Nationality and Borders Bill is the most significant overhaul of our asylum system in over two decades with the aim of promoting safe and legal routes. Only by tackling illegal migration can we effectively help those in greatest need. It will bring in a new, comprehensive, fair but firm long-term plan, which seeks to address the challenge of illegal migration head on, and to take down the serious organised criminals exploiting people and profiting from human misery.

Emergency Services Network: Rhandirmwyn

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and (b) mobile communication companies on the use of the Emergency Services Network mast at Rhandirmwyn, Carmarthenshire for commercial 4G and 5G purposes.

Rachel Maclean: There are regular meetings between the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office about the Emergency Service Network’s Extended Area Services (EAS) sites being used for the Shared Rural Network (SRN). The two departments discuss EAS site suitability, deployment and activation timelines. There has been no specific meeting in relation to sites in Rhandirmwyn.All (Extended Area Services) sites are available for SRN in principle, where site conditions, planning legislation and a willing site provider align and where they meet the DCMS viability criteria. SRN have provisionally carried out a strategic evaluation of each proposed site. DCMS’s current approach is where site conditions allow, all 292 EAS sites are under consideration for SRN .There are 2 EAS sites in the Rhandirmwyn area and these are both being considered for commercial connectivity via the SRN. We are currently working with the DCMS and Mobile Network Operators to facilitate sharing of the EAS sites as quickly as possible.The SRN Programme also has regular monthly updates with the Devolved Administrations, where regular updates are given on the progress of the programme. In addition, DCMS regularly keep the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales updated on the progress of the SRN EAS program with regular stocktakes.There have been no discussion on 5G deployment with DCMS as SRN is providing 4G services.

Action Fraud

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individual reports of suspected fraud were made to Action Fraud in each quarter since Action Fraud was established.

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many case referrals were made by Action Fraud to police forces in each quarter since Action Fraud was established, by police force area.

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of suspected fraud referred to police forces by Action Fraud resulted in charges being brought in each quarter since Action Fraud was established, by police force area.

Damian Hinds: The Home Office collects data on the number of fraud cases reported to Action Fraud that have been recorded as criminal offences by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB).Such data is published by the Office for National Statistics on a quarterly basis and the most recently available data for the year ending September 2021 can be found, here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesquarterlydatatablesA longer running time series, available back to April 2011, is also available in Table A4 here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=%2fpeoplepopulationandcommunity%2fcrimeandjustice%2fdatasets%2fcrimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables%2fyearendingseptember2021/appendixtablesep21finalv2.xlsxThe Home Office also collects information on the number of fraud offences that the NFIB refer to police forces for investigation and on the number of fraud outcomes, including charges, recorded by the police. This data is published annually as part of the Home Office’s ‘Crime Outcomes in England and Wales’ publication. The latest available data for year ending March 2021 can be found be here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/crime-outcomes-in-england-and-wales-statistics .City of London Police also produce an interactive dashboard of their statistics which shows a breakdown of dissemination rates and outcomes at force level. This can be found here: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/data.

Buildings: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of whether an evacuation manager should be appointed at Magellan House, Leeds, as proposed by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, in the context of that building having a comprehensive fire alarm and the statement by the Minister for Building Safety and Fire on 23 January 2022 on Twitter that no fire and rescue service should be imposing evacuation managers for buildings with a comprehensive fire alarm.

Rachel Maclean: It is the duty of the Responsible Person for Magellan House to consider how best to fulfil their duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.The Fire and Rescue Service’s role is to enforce against the Order.It is vital that Responsible Persons take a proportionate approach, however I cannot comment on a specific case.

Asylum

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make changes to the Immigration Rules to permit certain persons to apply for a visa to come to the UK for the purpose of making an asylum claim; and whether a person can already seek a visa for such purposes.

Kevin Foster: We sympathise with the many millions of people facing difficult situations around the world, yet there is no provision in the Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to claim asylum as it would simply not be practical or sensible to offer a visa to the UK for everyone who might be in this situation. It is more effective to focus opportunities for resettlement in the UK on the most vulnerable people in need of protection through our resettlement schemes. These schemes have provided safe and legal routes for tens of thousands of people to start new lives in the UK, alongside the many who may also arrive via our family or skilled work routes where they are eligible for them.

Animal Welfare: Afghanistan

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what Ministerial directions were issues by her Department in relation to the evacuation of animals from Afghanistan from the Nowzad charity.

Victoria Atkins: No Ministerial directions were issued on the handling of animals connected with the Nowzad charity.

Afghanistan

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is for notifying her Department of people who are at risk of political persecution in Afghanistan and who are seeking support from the UK Government.

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has a process for hon Members to forward cases for consideration by her Department under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Victoria Atkins: The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January and will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.The scheme will prioritise those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law; and vulnerable people such as women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups (including ethnic / religious minorities and LGBT+).Representations from Members of Parliament have raised the plight of a great number of people from Afghanistan who would wish to relocate to the UK.These representations have helped to inform the design of the ACRS as a scheme that will help those in need who are particularly vulnerable, including women and children at risk, and minority groups; as well as those who have supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.All referrals onto the ACRS will be through the three pathways set out in the statement to Parliament of 6 January, which is a fair and equitable way to identify those most in need.As an additional verification step, we shall check names of eligible British Council and GardaWorld contractors, and Chevening alumni against the names of people referred to us by MPs during the evacuation.Further detail on the three referral pathways can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans for a process for hon Members to forward cases for consideration under the third referral pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme when eligibility widens after the first year of operation.

Victoria Atkins: The third referral pathway will focus on those most at risk who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan.In the first year of this third referral pathway, the Government will offer ACRS places to the most at risk British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be in touch with those eligible to support them through the next steps. Beyond the first year of the ACRS, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans most at risk.Representations from Members of Parliament have raised the plight of a great number of people from Afghanistan who would wish to relocate to the UK.These representations have helped to inform the design of the ACRS as a scheme that will help those in need who are particularly vulnerable, including women and children at risk, and minority groups; as well as those who have supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.All referrals onto the ACRS will be through the three pathways set out in the statement to Parliament of 6 January, which is a fair and equitable way to identify those most in need. As an additional verification step, we shall check names of eligible British Council and GardaWorld contractors, and Chevening alumni against the names of people referred to us by MPs during the evacuation.Further detail on the three referral pathways can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2021 to Question 73839 on Afghanistan: Refugees, whether there is an (a) online form, (b) email address and (c) telephone number for applications for visas for family members of Afghan nationals.

Victoria Atkins: For those who were not called forward as part of Op Pitting, or who are not offered resettlement under the ACRS, they will need to apply to come to the UK under the existing economic or family migration rules. They will be expected to meet the eligibility requirements of their chosen route, which includes paying relevant fees and charges, and providing biometrics. However, there is currently no option to give biometrics in Afghanistan.We encourage individuals already resettled in the UK who have eligible family members still in Afghanistan to visit gov.uk to check for the latest information about the ARAP.(Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy: further information on eligibility criteria and offer details - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).For Afghan refugees in the UK, their close family members are free to apply for Family Reunion, but we recognise those in Afghanistan will face the same challenges in providing biometrics and so we do not recommend making applications at this time. Those in third countries are open to submit an application. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website, which also provides details on ways to apply:https://www.gov.uk/settlement-refugee-or-humanitarian-protection/family-reunion

Refugees: Afghanistan

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether referrals by hon. Members is a valid referral route for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Victoria Atkins: The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will prioritise those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law; and vulnerable people such as women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups (including ethnic / religious minorities and LGBT+).Representations from Members of Parliament have raised the plight of a great number of people from Afghanistan who would wish to relocate to the UK.These representations have helped to inform the design of the ACRS as a scheme that will help those in need who are particularly vulnerable, including women and children at risk, and minority groups; as well as those who have supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.All referrals onto the ACRS will be through the three pathways set out in the statement to Parliament of 6 January, which is a fair and equitable way to identify those most in need.As an additional verification step, we shall check names of eligible British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni against the names of people referred to us by MPs during the evacuation.Further detail on the three referral pathways can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to provide information to hon. Members on whether the cases they have referred to her Department will be considered for resettlement under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Victoria Atkins: The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will prioritise those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law; and vulnerable people such as women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups (including ethnic / religious minorities and LGBT+).There is no application process for the ACRS. Instead, eligible people will be prioritised and referred for resettlement through one of three ways. The statement of 6 January sets this out in detail: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/oral-statement-on-the-afghan-citizens-resettlement-schemeRepresentations from Members of Parliament have raised the plight of a great number of people from Afghanistan who would wish to relocate to the UK.These representations have helped to inform the design of the ACRS as a scheme that will help those in need who are particularly vulnerable, including women and children at risk, and minority groups; as well as those who have supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.All referrals onto the ACRS will be through the three pathways set out in the statement to Parliament of 6 January, which is a fair and equitable way to identify those most in need.As an additional verification step, we shall check names of eligible British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni against the names of people referred to us by MPs during the evacuation.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Supported Housing: Regulation

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of strengthening the regulation of exempt accommodation.

Eddie Hughes: We are aware of a minority of supported housing landlords providing poor quality accommodation and insufficient support for residents, often at high cost to the taxpayer. It is completely unacceptable for anyone to abuse the Exempt Accommodation system, which is why we have invested over £5 million to support some of the worst affected areas.We are clear that this issue in the sector must be addressed and we continue to work with councils to drive out rogue landlords so vulnerable people can access the accommodation and support they deserve.

Multiple Occupation: Recycling

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending section nine of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulation 2006 to include the provision of recycling bins.

Eddie Hughes: The Department has not made an assessment of the potential merits of extending section nine of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulation 2006. Under these regulations, Licenced HMO landlords must make adequate arrangements for refuse disposal, including with regard to the local authority’s agreed refuse disposal scheme. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty on local authorities in England to undertake waste management, including making arrangements for the collection of recyclable waste.

Green Belt

Sarah Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the process is by which land that has been removed from the green belt can be returned to the green belt.

Stuart Andrew: Local authorities are responsible for creating and protecting Green Belt. Our National Planning Policy Framework states that a local authority can take land out of Green Belt only in exceptional circumstances, through the local plan process. Similarly, if a local authority considers that certain land would, and should, serve the purposes of Green Belt as set out in the Framework, it could propose the new designation as a policy in a revised local plan, and consult the local community. After any further revision, the draft plan would be submitted for formal examination in public by an independent Planning Inspector, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State. The plan (including any new Green Belt boundary) is checked thoroughly to confirm whether it is sound: that is, positively prepared, justified, effective, and consistent with the Framework.

Planning Permission

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will introduce a mechanism for the Police to advise planning committees where there are concerns that a planning application has a connection to an organised crime gang.

Stuart Andrew: Planning policies and decisions should ensure that developments create safe places and ensure that crime and disorder, and the fear of crime, do not undermine the quality of life or community cohesion. The National Planning Policy Framework states that local planning policies should use non-strategic policies such as establishing design principles which can set out more detailed crime prevention policies for specific areas, neighbourhoods and types of development.Planning permission is not granted on the basis of the applicant but considered on the presumption of securing sustainable development. However, I am aware these matters have been raised in the Hon Member's constituency and officials will be discussing further with the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner's Office.

Housing: Insulation

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what role local authority building control departments have in helping to tackle unsafe cladding.

Stuart Andrew: Building work must comply with the requirements of the Building Regulations. The building control body will inspect building work on site at appropriate stages. The local authority has the power, under Section 36 of the Building Act, to take enforcement action against non-compliant work. It is the duty of anyone responsible for building work to understand and meet their legal obligations.Local authorities have duties under the Housing Act 2004 to keep under review the conditions of residential buildings in their areas, as well as powers to act (including formal enforcement) where they consider significant hazards exist. The Government has set out its expectation that local authorities play a key role in addressing the risks of unsafe cladding on high-rise residential buildings in their areas.

Housing: Insulation

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what financial support is available for residential blocks under 11 metres whose building owners or property managers are carrying out cladding remediation works.

Stuart Andrew: The fire risk is lower in buildings under 18 metres and costly remediation work is usually not needed.  Where fire risks are identified, they should always be managed proportionately.  The Government has therefore focussed its financial support on high-rise residential buildings over 18 metres because we know that the risk to multiple households is greater when fire does spread in buildings of this height. The Building Safety Bill will deliver improvements across the entire built environment, including for buildings under 11 metres.

Freeports

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and (b) Secretary of State for Transport on the Freeport bidding process and the employment conditions of (i) port workers and (ii) seafarers.

Neil O'Brien: The Freeports bidding process was rigorously discussed across Government departments to ensure this programme was fit for purpose. The Government remains committed to ensuring Freeports maintains the UK’s high standards with respect to security, safety, workers’ rights, data protection, biosecurity, and the environment, while ensuring fair and open competition between businesses.

Freeports

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 115885 on Thames Freeport, if he will list all businesses directly involved in the bids for the (a) Thames, (b) Solent, (c) Humber, (d) Teesside and (e) Liverpool Freeport models.

Neil O'Brien: Freeports bring local authorities together with a wide range of private sector partners, including port and customs site operators, landowners, and tenant businesses. The nature of these coalitions have and will continue to evolve over time as business choose to locate in Freeports and take advantage of the attractive business environment they provide. Each Freeport will have a local governing body, responsible to Government for delivery of the Freeport proposal, which is expected to operate in line with appropriate levels of transparency, propriety, and inclusivity.

Freeports: Subsidiary Companies

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 115885 on Thames Freeport, if he will list the criteria used to assess the UK pension liabilities of international companies with UK subsidiaries that operate in (a) Thames, (b) Solent, (c) Humber, (d) Teesside and (e) Liverpool Freeports.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 115885 on Thames Freeport, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Work and Pensions since December 2019 on the UK pension liabilities of international companies involved in bids for Freeport status.

Neil O'Brien: The Freeport model includes a broad coalition of local partners, including businesses, local authorities, and ports. Trustees and employers have a wide range of legal duties in respect of workplace schemes and are responsible for compliance with legislative funding requirements. The Pension Regulator is the regulator of work-based pension schemes, and has a range of powers that it may use to intervene, and to take action, primarily against trustees and employers, where they do not comply with their duties.The Freeport Governance Body will be responsible for the effective delivery of the Freeport according to the economic strategy determined through the bidding process and the Freeport Governance Body will work with Government to ensure the Freeport stays aligned with national policy and delivers on its monitoring and evaluation commitments. The Government recognises rigorous monitoring and evaluation will be key to the success of the Freeports. The Government fully intends to evaluate the impact of Freeports and will be publishing its monitoring and evaluation strategy in the Spring.

Local Government: Standards

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what sanctions are available against people in local government who break rules on standards; and whether those sanctions are the same in every council and local authority across the country.

Kemi Badenoch: Councils have a number of sanctions for code of conduct breaches including a formal rebuke, removing any portfolio responsibilities and representative roles, and requiring members to undertake training. These sanctions apply to all councils across England.It is crucial that elected members in local government inspire confidence and have the trust of the electorate by adhering to their council’s code of conduct. All councillors are ultimately held to account via the ballot box.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Energy Supply

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what critical infrastructure his Department is responsible for that is reliant on private wire networks for power supply.

Mr Alister Jack: My Department is not responsible for any critical infrastructure that is reliant on private wire networks for power supply.

Cabinet Office

Brexit

Neil Coyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what opportunities from the UK's withdrawal from the EU the Minister for Brexit Opportunities has identified to date.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: This Government is driving forward an ambitious programme to seize the opportunities of leaving the EU, and deliver growth and innovation across the whole of the UK economy. On the 31st January, the Government published a policy document entitled ‘The Benefits of Brexit: how the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU’, which set out in detail how the Government is seizing the opportunities of leaving the EU, and how the Government will transform the UK into the best regulated in the world. From artificial intelligence and gene-editing, to autonomous vehicles and data, our reforms will give businesses the confidence to innovate, invest and create jobs. We have set a target to cut £1 billion of red tape to help businesses innovate and grow and have set out plans to bring forward the Brexit Freedoms Bill which will end the special status of EU law and ensure it can be more easily amended or removed. Furthermore, we now have an opportunity to develop and implement a new procurement regime which will enable us to create a simpler and significantly more transparent system that reduces costs for business and the public sector alike as well as supporting the levelling up agenda.

Ministerial Responsibility

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the ministerial responsibilities of the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will answer questions in the House of Commons in his capacity as the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Hon. Member to the reply I gave the Hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne on 7 February 2022 (Hansard Volume 708, from Column 695).

Prime Minister: Staff

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any employees of the Conservative Party will report to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in his role as Downing Street Chief of Staff.

Michael Ellis: As has been the case under successive administrations, issues relating to staff employed by the governing party are a matter for that party.

Prime Minister: Staff

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will be responsible for in his role as Downing Street chief of staff.

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) career civil servants, (b) political appointees within the civil service, (c) Ministers of the Crown and (d) arms length public bodies will report to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ​in his role as Downing Street Chief of Staff.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Hon. Member to the reply I gave to the Hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne on 7 February 2022 (Hansard Volume 708, Column 695) and the answer I gave on 10 February to PQ 119903 to the Hon. Member for Luton South.

Prime Minister

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the appointment of an hon. Member as Downing Street Chief of Staff is (a) a political appointment accountable to the Prime Minister or (b) a Government appointment accountable to Parliament.

Michael Ellis: I refer to the reply I gave to the Hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne on 7 February 2022 (Hansard Volume 708, from Column 695). The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a Minister of the Crown.

Prime Minister

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the appointment of an hon. Member as Head of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit is (a) a political appointment accountable to the Prime Minister or (b) a Government appointment accountable to Parliament.

Michael Ellis: The Hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs was appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office on 3 February 2022. He is a Minister of the Crown.

Treasury

Farms: Reservoirs

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether contractors using heavy machinery to build reservoirs on farms as part of work related to agriculture and food production can continue to use red diesel after 1 April 2022.

Helen Whately: At Budget 2020, the Chancellor announced that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022. This will help to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies. The Government recognised that these tax reforms would be a significant change for some businesses and ran a consultation to gather information from affected users on the expected impact of these tax changes and make sure it had not overlooked any exceptional reasons why affected sectors should be allowed to continue to use red diesel beyond April 2022. During the consultation period, the Government engaged directly with a wide variety of organisations. The activities accepted as falling within the definition of agriculture, horticulture and forestry are already defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. HMRC have published interim guidance on the implementation of the changes to the tax treatment of rebated fuels, which is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-rebated-fuels-entitlement-from-1-april-2022

Energy Bill Discount Scheme

Imran Hussain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the energy bill discount scheme will be mandatory for all who qualify.

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling energy consumers to opt-out of the energy bills rebate scheme.

Derek Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has taken steps to ensure that people can opt out of the £200 energy bill credit.

Derek Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the £200 energy bill credit on people who object to being placed in debt.

Helen Whately: All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills. This will help people with the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years, so they are more manageable for households. The energy bill reduction is not a loan – there is no interest due on it, no debt attached to it, and it will not affect your credit rating.

Business: Coronavirus

Justin Madders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings Ministers and officials in his Department held with stakeholders on the £4.3 million lost to fraudulent covid-19 claims; and who was in attendance at those meetings.

Lucy Frazer: The £4.3 billion figure that has been widely reported is not a figure produced or recognised by HMRC or HMT. HM Treasury works closely with HMRC to ensure a robust approach to error and fraud within the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and Eat Out to Help Out, and the Government remains committed to cracking down on fraud wherever it arises. Within the unprecedented £400 billion package of support, the Government put robust measures in place to control error and fraud in the key pandemic support schemes. By building automated controls into the digital claim process, HMRC prevented more than 100,000 ineligible or mistaken claims in these schemes. At the March 2021 Budget, the Government invested over £100 million in a Taxpayer Protection Taskforce. The taskforce is expected to recover £800 million to £1 billion from fraudulent or incorrect payments over the next two years. This is in addition to the £536 million already recovered by HMRC in 2020-21. After this point, HMRC will continue to address fraud in the schemes through wider compliance activity. The Government designed these schemes to prevent as much fraud as possible before any payments were made, while still supporting those who needed it as quickly as possible in unprecedented circumstances. As a result, the economy is back to pre-pandemic levels and growing at the fastest rate in the G7.

Charging Points and Parking: VAT

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he made of the potential merit of equalising the VAT regime for (a) residential off-street parking and (b) public charging for electric vehicles.

Patrick Grady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the VAT regime for (a) residential off-street charging and (b) public charging on the uptake of electric vehicles.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has no plans to review the current rate of VAT applied to electric vehicle (EV) charging. In order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use, including charging electric vehicles at home, attracts the 5 per cent reduced rate of VAT. However, electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places is subject to the standard 20 per cent rate of VAT.Expanding the existing relief would come at a cost. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019-20, and helps fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing, or increased taxation elsewhere.

Statutory Sick Pay: Coronavirus

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses have received a rebate under the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme since 26 May 2020.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been paid to businesses by HMRC in rebates under the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme since 26 May 2020.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employees' sick pay HMRC has reimbursed via rebate under the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme since 26 May 2020.

Lucy Frazer: The Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Rebate Scheme supports employers with the cost of SSP paid to employees for absences related to COVID-19 for up to two weeks per employee. The scheme is available to UK based businesses with fewer than 250 employees. From 26 May 2020 to 31 December 2021, the first SSP Rebate scheme paid out £88 million in support to 124,000 employers for SSP costs relating to 675,000 employees. Data from the current scheme will be released after the scheme ends.

Arms Trade: Fines

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the exporters who were fined between March and November 2021 by HMRC for the unlicensed export of (a) military and (b) dual use goods.

Lucy Frazer: Information on HMRC enforcement outcomes is published in the Strategic Export Controls Annual Reports. In line with the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, HMRC cannot list the items that were exported, because to do so would disclose information about an identifiable ‘person’.

Export Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the items that exporters were fined by HMRC for unlicensed export of under the Export Control Order 2008 from March to November 2021.

Lucy Frazer: Information on HMRC enforcement outcomes is published in the Strategic Export Controls Annual Reports. In line with the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, HMRC cannot list the items that were exported, because to do so would disclose information about an identifiable ‘person’. However, HMRC can confirm that the items were either military rated or dual use goods.

Remote Working: Tax Allowances

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the tax allowance for home working.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department last reviewed the tax allowance for home working; and what assessment his Department has made of the value of that tax allowance in the context of recent increases in the cost of living.

Lucy Frazer: Employees who are eligible for tax relief for working from home can claim relief on the actual amount of additional household costs or on the flat rate allowance. Eligible employees can claim tax relief on the allowance of £6 per week without the need to provide evidence of expenditure. The amount was increased from £4 per week in April 2020. As with all aspects of the tax system, the Government will keep tax reliefs under review. Any decisions on future changes will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.

Hospitality Industry and Tourism: VAT

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish an impact assessment on the potential economic effect of ending the reduced rate of VAT for (a) hospitality and (b) tourism businesses on (i) jobs and (ii) businesses in those sectors.

Lucy Frazer: The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July 2020 to support the cash flow and viability of around 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors. As announced at Spring Budget 2021, the Government extended the 5 per cent temporary reduced rate of VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors until the end of September 2021. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent was introduced for these goods and services to help ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. This new rate will end on 31 March 2022. This relief has cost over £8 billion and, whilst all taxes are kept under review, there are no plans to extend the 12.5 per cent reduced rate of VAT. The Government has been clear that this relief is a temporary measure designed to support the sectors that have been severely affected by COVID-19. It is appropriate that as restrictions are lifted and demand for goods and services in these sectors increases the temporary tax reliefs are first reduced, and then removed, in order to rebuild and strengthen the public finances.

Self-employment Income Support Scheme

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) providing a rebate to people who paid tax on grant funding from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme for the 2020-21 tax return and (b) removing the requirement that people who have received grants via the SEISS pay tax on those grants for the 2021-22 tax year.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has supported UK households throughout the pandemic with nearly £400 billion of COVID support, including through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The SEISS has provided over £28 billion in grants to 2.9 million individuals. The Government does not think it is right to allow SEISS recipients to alter the rate of tax paid on that income over time. The SEISS was designed to support those whose income had dropped temporarily due to COVID-19. Like self-employed income, SEISS grant payments are subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance contributions at the recipient’s rate of Income Tax in the year it was received. The Government has implemented an unprecedented package of support for taxpayers struggling with paying tax liabilities. HMRC has scaled up its longstanding Time to Pay policy, which allows any business or individual in temporary financial difficulty to schedule their tax debts into affordable, sustainable, and tailored instalment arrangements. Anyone experiencing difficulties paying their tax bill can discuss payment options with HMRC.

Child Tax Credit

Sir Alan Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has any plans to change the rules on child tax credit to allow it to be split across couples who share custody jointly.

Mr Simon Clarke: Child Tax Credit (CTC) supports families with the extra costs of raising a child. The Government currently has no plans for splitting CTC in cases where parents have joint care, because there are provisions in place allowing parents to make a joint election as to who should receive the payments. Where parents cannot agree, HM Revenue & Customs can decide who shall be entitled based on the information provided by both parents and the facts in relation to each’s circumstances. CTC is typically paid to the main carer because they bear more of the expenditure for the child and splitting payments would reduce the amount available to them, when they are often the parent less well placed to earn additional income, and might result in neither household being able to afford extra costs. Unfortunately, there can be no guarantee that both parties will be satisfied with the outcome, although this would equally be the case should parents have to agree how payments were split if formal arrangements for this were put in place. Therefore, ideally, parents should reach agreement between themselves.

Children: Day Care

Mick Whitley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of service provided on the Childcare Service phonelines.

Mr Simon Clarke: The front line phonelines for the Childcare Service are provided by HMRC’s delivery partners NS&I. HMRC liaise closely with NS&I to ensure a consistently good service is provided to agreed service standards. HMRC work collaboratively to overcome any short term issues that may arise such as Covid-19 related temporary staff shortages.

Energy Bill Discount Scheme

David Linden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 119778 on the Energy Bill Discount Scheme, for what reason that Answer did not provide a definition of the word discount.

Helen Whately: The Government is providing a £200 reduction on bills from October for all households in Great Britain with a domestic electricity meter, to reduce pressure on energy bills this year when global gas prices are high. This will help households manage the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years. The energy bill reduction will give households time for their finances to adjust rather than having to deal with the price increase up front and will provide relief to millions of households. The £200 is a reduction on bills to be automatically recouped from people’s bills interest-free over the next five years. The aim of the policy is to effectively spread the worst of the extra costs of this year’s energy price shock over time. The energy bill reduction will be delivered by energy suppliers and the government will consult on the details of the scheme.

Consumer Goods: Prices

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the increase in household goods prices on families on a low income.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of clothing and footwear price increases on low income families.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what impact assessment his Department has made of the effect of the cost of travel on low income families.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what impact assessment the Government has conducted of the effect of the increased cost associated with motoring expenditure on low income families.

Mr Simon Clarke: As the global economy recovers, many economies are experiencing high inflation, in part due to pressures from rising energy prices and disruptions to global supply chains. These global pressures are the main driver of higher inflation in the UK. We understand the pressure that a higher cost of living places on people and low-income families. The government is providing support worth over £20 billion this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing work allowances to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills.

Council Tax: Rebates

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the proportion of the £150 rebate to people in category A to D council tax bands that will be lost by the average household as a result of April 2022's council tax increases; and whether he has made an assessment of alternative approaches to delivering that support.

Mr Simon Clarke: The council tax rebate will be administered by local authorities as a £150 payment to families to help ease cost of living pressures. All households that are eligible for the rebate will receive the payment in full, including households in bands A-D who do not pay council tax due to receipt of Local Council Tax Support. The use of the council tax system enables support to be provided quickly to a large number of households.

Private Rented Housing: Cost of Living

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ahead of the Spring Statement, what assessment he has made of the contribution of private rental costs to the current increases in the cost of living; and what steps he will take to reduce those costs.

Mr Simon Clarke: As the global economy recovers, many economies are experiencing high inflation, in part due to pressures from rising energy prices and disruptions to global supply chains. These global pressures are the main driver of higher inflation in the UK. The latest ONS data shows that private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 2% in the 12 months to January 2022. This is compared to an average annual growth rate of 1.5% over the last 6 years. We understand the pressure that a higher cost of living places on people. That is why the government is providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing work allowances to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills. In addition, the Government is maintaining the increase in Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for 22/23. The LHA uplift gave extra support to over 1.5 million households in 20/21, who gained over £600 on average, while the gain was even higher for households renting in the highest demand areas.

Council Tax: Rebates

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the payment of the £150 council tax rebate to people who do not pay their council tax via direct debit; and what steps he is taking to ensure that all eligible people receive the rebate.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is continuing to engage with local authorities on the implementation of the council tax energy rebate. This includes the approach to households in bands A-D that do not pay by direct debit, or do not pay council tax because they are in receipt of Local Council Tax Support.

Council Tax: Rebates

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the financial support provided to local authorities to assist with the administration of the £150 council tax rebate.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities continues to engage with local authorities on the implementation of the council tax energy rebate. Local authorities will be provided with additional new burdens funding to administer the rebate and the associated discretionary funding.

Business

John McNally: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of redrawing the Withdrawal Agreement to provide better support to UK businesses.

Mr Simon Clarke: Following the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK agreed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the EU – the first free trade agreement the EU has ever reached based on zero tariffs and zero quotas, helping to support businesses. The TCA means that the UK can now regulate in a way that suits the UK economy and UK businesses – doing things in a more innovative way, without being bound by EU rules. We are ensuring businesses continue to get the support they need to trade effectively with the EU, and to seize new opportunities as we strike trade deals with the world’s fastest growing markets. The Government is in negotiations with the EU to address issues in the Northern Ireland Protocol, to ensure businesses that move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland face minimal burdens.

Children: Day Care

Mick Whitley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of time it takes for the appeals process to be completed when persons have had their applications for thirty hours of free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds denied.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Childcare Service, which delivers eligibility checking for 30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year-old children of working parents, is designed to give quick decisions and quick access to reviews when parents disagree with decisions. Cases are routinely monitored. Only a tiny fraction of parents go on to appeal to an independent tribunal after the review process concludes, only 1% last year.

Children: Day Care

Mick Whitley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of applications for thirty hours of free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds that were found to have been wrongly denied in 2020 - 2021.

Mr Simon Clarke: In 2021 HMRC overturned 750 decisions that parents were not eligible for 30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year-old children of working parents on review or appeal, out of 815,000 customer journeys. This represents 0.1% of all eligibility decisions being overturned.

Freeports

Ben Bradley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his timeframe is for bringing forward legislative proposals on the designation and enablement of freeports.

Mr Simon Clarke: Freeports are playing a crucial role in our post-COVID-19 recovery, helping to build back better, drive clean growth and contribute to realising the Levelling Up agenda. We have designated tax sites through secondary legislation in four Freeports and we will continue to designate more tax sites this year. Legislation has also been laid to underpin the customs and VAT regime and two customs sites have been already designated in law in different Freeports. HMG continues to support Freeports with the delivery of their customs sites and will continue to designate customs sites as the relevant criteria are demonstrated. Maps for designated tax and customs site are available on gov.uk. Freeports will be fully operational following designation of tax and primary customs sites, with seed funding to be released on approval of their full business cases, expected later this year.

Police: Allowances

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the (a) overnight allowance for police officers working away from home overnight and (b) additional hardship allowance for those without proper accommodation is provided to forces as a taxable benefit.

Mr Simon Clarke: Additional allowances paid to police officers such as subsistence, lodging and supplementary rent allowances are not taxable providing they have been paid in respect of duties performed away from the officer’s normal station. Additionally, the allowances must also have been provided on the basis that the temporary posting is not expected to and does not exceed 24 months.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Cycling: World Cup

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the context of the recent success of UK cyclists at the 2022 UCI Cycli-cross World Championships, whether her Department (a) has provided and (b) plans to provide support to enable a round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup to take place in the UK in the near future.

Nigel Huddleston: The government, through UK Sport, provides funding towards the staging of major sporting events in line with the Gold Framework guidance on UK-level support available when bidding for and staging major sporting events.Given that Cyclo-cross is currently not an Olympic or Paralympic discipline, it is unlikely to be eligible for this type of funding (unless taking place as part of an event covering multiple cycling disciplines).However, UK Sport does have regular contact with British Cycling about their event-hosting ambitions and is supporting the staging of the combined UCI World Championships in Glasgow in 2023

Motor Sports: Finance

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what financial support her Department has given to motorcycle speedway since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.

Nigel Huddleston: The government has provided up to £600 million support through the Sport Survival Package to spectator sport organisations throughout the pandemic. To date, we have publicly announced more than £230 million support which has helped hundreds of organisations survive whilst restrictions on crowd capacities have been in place. Speedway clubs have received over £300,000 in loan support from the package to date.

Football: Ethnic Groups

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the participation of BAME young people in grassroots football.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of racism aimed at BAME people in grassroots football; and what steps she is taking to tackle racism in grassroots football.

Nigel Huddleston: The government is clear that racism has no place in football, sport, or society at large. Our strategy ‘Sporting Future’ is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in sport and physical activity, including football. We are in regular dialogue with the football authorities across a range of matters, including tackling racism and increasing racial diversity in grassroots football.In October 2021 the FA launched their new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy (2021-24) ‘A Game for All’. We also welcomed the launch of the County FA’s Code of Governance in May 2020 and the FA’s ‘Football Leadership Diversity Code’ in October 2020, which is a step in the right direction to ensure English football better represents our modern and diverse society, on and off the pitch. The FA has committed to following this with a version adapted, in 2021, for the National League System and grassroots clubs.Opportunities for participation are crucial too. The government invests £18m a year into football facilities, through the Football Foundation, to improve access to quality facilities across the country with an additional £75m announced in 2021 as well. Inclusivity forms a part of the assessment criteria for any application for funding from the Foundation, with it being a core value of the organisation.The government will continue to liaise closely with the football authorities on their efforts to improve diversity in the sport and will be addressing it in the upcoming revised Sport Strategy.

Olympic Games: China

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the reasons for International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach's intervention in the voting process that led to the award of the 2022 Winter Olympics to Beijing at the meeting of the International Olympics Committee in Kuala Lumpur in 2015.

Nigel Huddleston: The voting procedures to award the hosting of Olympic Games are a matter for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The British Olympic Association are our representatives to that forum, operating independently of the government.

Arts and Culture: Education

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Joint Council for Qualifications' findings that (a) between 2010 to 2021 in England there was a serious decline of -38 per cent in the number of arts GCSE entries, from 673,739 in 2010 to 419,357 in 2021 and (b) from 2010 to 2019 the number of teachers in arts based subjects fell by 23 per cent, what steps her Department plans to take to promote arts and culture for disadvantaged young people (i) in traditional educational settings and (ii) more widely.

Nigel Huddleston: Art and design and music are compulsory in the National Curriculum in all maintained schools from the age of 5 to the age of 14, and academies are also required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, which Ofsted considers in their inspections. At key stage 4 all pupils in maintained schools have an entitlement to study an arts GCSE if they wish.The Government has a diverse portfolio of music and arts education programmes that are designed to improve access to the arts for all children, regardless of their background, and to develop talent across the country. The Department for Education have commited to invest around £115 million per annum in cultural education over the next three years and we will work closely together to ensure that all children and young people, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to access arts and culture and develop their creative talents.

Gambling: Fines

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which companies have been served by the Gambling Commission with fines in excess of £100,000 since April 2018.

Chris Philp: The Gambling Commission can fine a gambling operator if a licence condition has been breached. In some circumstances, the Commission may decide to agree a regulatory settlement instead of issuing a fine. While fines are paid to the exchequer, regulatory settlements are divested by the company to third parties.Since April 2018, the Gambling Commission has imposed financial penalties in excess of £100,000 on 46 operators. These include both fines and regulatory settlements where an operator has admitted fault and made a payment in lieu of a fine, at a level agreed with the Commission. Regulatory action is published on the Commission’s website here.FinesDateNameFine (£)17/12/2021Genesis Global Limited£3,769,92019/11/2021Buzz Group Limited£780,00002/09/21EU Lotto Limited£760,00002/07/21Daub Alderney Limited£5,850,00008/03/21In Touch Games Limited£3,400,00003/03/21Casumo Services Limited£6,005,00001/02/21A & S Leisure Group Limited£377,34027/10/20Aspers (Stratford City) Limited£652,50026/10/20BoyleSports£2,800,00017/02/20Triplebet Limited£739,09903/04/19Bestbet Limited£230,97217/01/19Silverbond Enterprises Limited£1,800,00006/11/18Casumo Services Limited£5,850,00006/11/18Daub Alderney Limited£7,100,000Regulatory settlementsDateNamePayment in lieu (£)Divestment (£)20/01/2022Annexio (Jersey) Limited£612,000N/A20/01/2022Rank Digital Gaming (Alderney) Limited£700,557N/A2/12/2021Greentube Alderney Limited£685,000N/A13/10/21VGC Leeds Limited£209,000£241,00030/03/21Double Diamond Gaming Limited£247,000N/A30/03/21Les Croupiers Casino Limited£202,500N/A30/03/21Shaftesbury Casino Limited£260,000N/A30/03/21Clockfair Limited£260,000N/A28/01/21White Hat Gaming Limited£1,344,053.18N/A28/10/20Netbet Enterprises Limited£748,000N/A28/10/20GAN (UK) Limited£100,000£46,75428/10/20BGO Entertainment Limited£2,000,000N/A06/05/20FSB Technology (UK) Limited£600,000N/A02/04/20Caesars Entertainment Limited Group£13,000,000N/A12/03/20Betway Limited£5,800,000£5,800,00027/02/20Mr Green Limited£3,000,000N/A10/10/19Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited£182,000£140,00031/07/19Ladbrokes Betting & Gaming Limited£4,800,000£1,100,00011/07/19Casino 36 Limited£152,259£147,74113/06/19Platinum Gaming Limited£990,200£629,42012/06/19Gamesys Operations Limited£690,000£460,47215/05/19In Touch Games Limited£2,200,000N/A15/05/19Betit Operations Limited£1,400,000N/A15/05/19MT SecureTrade Limited£592,333£107,66729/11/18Videoslots Limited£1,000,000N/A16/10/18TSE Malta LP£910,993£95,44416/10/18Power Leisure Bookmakers Limited£190,760£95,38016/10/18PPB Entertainment Limited£349,762£174,88116/10/18Paddy Power Holdings Limited£265,606£132,80310/10/18Rank Digital Gaming (Alderney) Limited£500,000N/A10/10/18Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited£500,000N/A

COP26

UN Climate Conference 2021: Geothermal Power

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the President of COP26, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2021 to Question 73823 on UN Climate Conference 2021: Aviation, if he will provide a breakdown of the 2,500,000 kWh thermal energy usage, by each thermal energy source.

Alok Sharma: Based on available estimates of floor areas for the Blue Zone and Green Zone, energy usage amounted to approximately 900,000 kWh electrical and 2,500,000 kWh thermal. This accounts for the build, live-event, and de-rig phases of the conference.We are now receiving actual event data from our delivery partners and are working with Arup, our sustainability consultants, on collating and reconciling all data from suppliers and delivery partners to inform the final offsetting figure and ensure COP26 was a carbon neutral event. Details of the action taken to mitigate impacts in delivery and further detail on the offsetting of unavoidable emissions will be provided in our sustainability report due for publication in the coming months.

Women and Equalities

Question

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of BAME Further Education (a) students and (b) college leaders.

Alex Burghart: Government is clear that all learners from all backgrounds must benefit from our education and training policies. Our latest FE trends participation data (August 2011 to July 2019) shows that whilst the total number of people in further education in England fell, during the same period, the percentage of people in further education from Asian, Black, Mixed, and Other ethnic groups increased from 19.3% to 22.6%.We have exceeded our target to increase the proportion of apprentices from ethnic minority backgrounds starting apprenticeships. 14.3% of starts in 2020/21 were by people of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, compared to 13.3% in 2019/20. We continue to raise awareness in schools through our ASK programme to support young people into apprenticeships and The Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network promotes diversity in apprenticeships including encouraging more from ethnic minorities into key sectors with historic under-representation.We are supporting the largest-ever expansion of traineeships as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs to ensure that more young people have access to high-quality training. Since their introduction in the 2013/14 academic year (AY), the diversity record on traineeships has shown steady improvement, with around one third of starts being from ethnic minority backgrounds in 2020/21.We also provide extra funding for colleges to support the most disadvantaged students with low prior attainment or living in deprived areas and provide learner support for disadvantaged students to help them overcome barriers to learning.We have been working with a number of representative bodies in the Further Education sector to strengthen leadership and governance, including through greater diversity. We recognise the importance of having a diverse and representative workforce, and have funded the Education and Training Foundation to deliver a range of programmes designed to increase the diversity of leaders and managers. We have also committed to a new mandatory annual data collection in FE, which will uncover a large range of characteristics of the workforce, including ethnicity, which will provide a robust picture of the ethnic makeup of the workforce.

Question

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the Online Safety Bill improves protections for women and girls.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls, and we have taken significant steps to strengthen the forthcoming Online Safety Bill to improve protections for women and girls. Offences relating to sexual images (including revenge and extreme pornography), harassment and cyberstalking will be included in the list of priority offences on the face of the Bill. As a result, platforms will have to take steps to search for, remove and stop people from being exposed to this content and criminal behaviour. We have also accepted the Law Commission’s recommendations to introduce a new harms-based offence and threatening communications offence, which will go further to tackle harmful online abuse of women and girls. We are also making changes to the Bill to ensure children are protected from pornography content, wherever it appears online.

Conversion Therapy

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans she has to ban conversion therapy in all circumstances.

Mike Freer: This Government is committed to banning conversion therapy practices regardless of the setting in which they are carried out. Our primary concern is to ensure that people are protected from harmful practices that do not work and can cause long lasting damage. We are analysing the responses to the consultation which closed on 4 February and remain committed to preparing legislation for Spring, to be introduced when Parliamentary time allows.